Fiji Community Celebrates Rebuilt and Rededicated Meetinghouse After Cyclone

The story of the Nakawakawa Church building is so intertwined with the story of its congregation and their lay church leader, Pita Vakalala, that they must be told together.  The roof of the small chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was ripped off in 2020 when Cyclone Asa wreaked havoc on the Fijian Island of Vanua Levu.  The isolated Nakawakawa village was devastated by the category 5 cyclone.  The storm destroyed many of the crops and homes of the small farming village.  

The chapel, which was the heart and centre of the community, remained standing but the roof was carried by the winds into the river, leaving the building open to the elements.  When Pita Vakalala saw the beloved chapel ruined he said, “I fell to my knees.”  The loss of their chapel multiplied Nakawakawa’s grief.  

However, Saturday, August 21,2022 was a day of celebration and gratitude for Pita Vakalala and his village family.  Their  rebuilt chapel was re-dedicated for worship, gathering and the work of the Lord.  The people came, those of many faiths, to celebrate the rebirth of the centre of their community, situated high on a hill, shining as a welcoming beacon of light and a reminder of God’s presence in their lives.  It can be seen from far out to sea.  

Fiji Mission President Brad Markus and his wife Susan made the trek from Suva to offer the dedicatory prayer on the restored building.  Two flights and three hours driving on dirt roads were required for them to reach the remote village tucked away on the southeast shore of Vanua Levu, Fiji.  200 villagers and church leaders were eagerly waiting for them to worship together and celebrate with joyful dancing and food.  It had been a long two years delay complicated by Covid and the difficulty of getting supplies into Nakawakawa.  

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President Vakalala, President Markus and other speakers presented their thoughts to the gathered congregation which spilled out of the building.  Some watched the proceedings through the windows and doors, others sat in the pavilion just outside.  

The story of the Nakawakawa chapel really began in 2011. Pita Vakalala received specific instructions from the Lord in a blessing.  He said that he felt very strongly that he was called by the Lord to bring the people of his ancestral village unto Christ. The charge given to him was direct and specific and it felt overwhelmingly big.  Pita gathered his courage and started doing small things to press forward. He began by praying and asking the Lord where to start.  He was impressed to call his ecclesiastical leader in Suva to get permission to worship and take the sacrament (similar to communion) in his home every Sabbath as his isolated village was too far away from any Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint congregations to attend in person.   

Sabbath worship helped Pita and his family to focus their minds on the Saviour and remember Him. Pita Vakalala also read his scriptures faithfully every day.  Direction came as he continued praying, to share his love of God with this friend or that friend.  By 2014, ten or so Nakawawa families were worshipping together with the Vakalalas in their homes.

 Next the Lord inspired members of the small congregation  to make sacrifices to save enough money to attend the temple, a place of sacred worship for members of the Church of Jesus Christ. A small group flew to Tonga to gain spiritual strength from a visit to the temple there. 

The families returned renewed and between 2015 and 2016, they invited others in their community to join them in their congregation.  Over 100 people joined the Church during this period. 

By now they had outgrown the homes they were meeting in, so Vakalala and another local leader, President Antoni Petero approached the village chief in a Sevusevu ceremonial exchange.  This traditional Fijian custom requires that supplicants bring the chief a whale tooth, to them a sacred symbol,  to garner his favor.  If the chief grants permission, it is considered to be legally binding according to Fijian law.  The chief agreed to Vakalala and President Petero’s request for village land and consent to construct a small, simple structure.  Pita’s grandfather donated mahogany wood for the project and the congregation set to work.  The villagers hauled the timber up the hill, working late into the nights.  The last six planks were carried up the hill well into the early morning hours to complete it by moonlight in time for a baptism to be performed that morning.  However, it wasn't long before the congregation of Saints outgrew that small, primitive chapel. 

In 2017, they were recognized as a branch - a designation given to a smaller congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Pita was named the Branch President, a position he continues to hold.  

Again, with permission from the chief, a larger building was raised up near the other to become the pride of the village.  It was this larger structure that lost its roof to the storm and that was so joyfully rededicated this past weekend.  

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When trouble comes into our lives, we struggle to persevere that we may come back stronger than we were before.  The villagers celebrated on Saturday a beautiful chapel that is reinforced and sturdy, better and stronger, as are they from their trials.  One of the speakers aptly noted about the return of their building, "It's good to be home in a place of refuge... here we love one another and care for one another."

The Nakawakawa chapel will be a symbol of their great faith and a blessing to the community for years to come.