Life-Sustaining Water Blesses Fijian Village

The following commentary was written by Sister Christine Hair and Elder Corwin Hair, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in Suva, Fiji.

Water. Life-sustaining, pure, clean water. Many of us don’t give much thought to the water we use every day. We simply turn a faucet handle to have our basic needs met, to stay healthy and clean, and to, in fact, stay alive. We probably take for granted that which is so crucial to our daily lives.

For the families living on native lands in Savarua, Fiji, access to water meant carrying buckets 150 metres to a creek to collect it. At pre-dawn, in order to get the children off to school, the families made the lengthy walk up and down the hill to the creek laden with weighty water containers. Later in the day, the women carried the loads of family laundry to wash it in the same creek. More trips were made to and from the creek with the heavy water buckets in order to water gardens, to prepare afternoon meals, for hygiene and day-to-day life. And sadly, the water they worked so hard for wasn’t necessarily clean or healthy.

Imagine how lives were changed when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped to bring water–precious, clean running water–to each home in the small settlement.

The running water, however, didn’t come until after the families were brought to The Living Water, Jesus Christ. Just as water is essential for our physical needs, the Saviour and His teachings are essential for our spiritual needs. A few members of the community, speaking through an interpreter, expressed their deep love for Jesus Christ and their belief that coming to the Living Water is what brought the running water to their settlement.

That journey began when Pateresio “Roko” Rokonaiveno took his sick wife, Annalaisa Marame, to her sister’s village, Naulu-vatu Waidina. He hoped that she would improve under the care of family and a village nurse. While there, Roko met missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elders Homestead and Tausiga. The missionaries invited him to learn about the Church. Roko agreed but told them they would have to come to his highland home in the isolated settlement.

A week later, Elders Homestead and Tausiga drove up the dirt road to Roko’s home. He remembers feeling that it was a miracle that the missionaries not only found the remote settlement, but also found him at home. Normally, he would have been away working at the farm. The missionaries taught the family about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and gave Annalaisa a blessing to restore her health. Annalaisa was healed and the family invited them to return again. Roko said, “After one discussion, I knew it was true.”

In anticipation for the next visit, Roko and Ananaisa began inviting family and neighbours to join them to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Roko’s uncle, Kalaveti Delana, agreed to meet the missionaries but only to ask them if they knew of the origin of a book he found years earlier. Kalaveti hoped to join the church that his book taught about. He read aloud to his family every Sunday from this book entitled, The Teachings of Presidents of The Church, Brigham Young. The truthfulness of the book resonated with Kalaveti as he read it over and over and his heart was set on finding that church.

The missionaries had no problem identifying his book, as Brigham Young was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kalaveti Delana felt like his long search had ended and his many prayers answered. Roko, Annalaisa, Kalaveti and other family members soon were baptised and their faith journey moved forward.

For a month, the faithful group walked six hours each Sunday on dirt roads for the opportunity to worship with the nearest congregation. Local leaders were sympathetic to the difficulty of their travel and gave them permission to gather and partake of the sacrament in their homes.

As more families and members joined them, they built a simple structure to serve as a place of worship. Kalaveti Delana carefully wrapped his original copy of Teachings of the Presidents of The Church. Roko wrapped his first Book of Mormon and they placed them under the foundation of that building as a symbol of their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The growing unit that meets there now prays for the day when they can have a chapel. With eyes of faith they can imagine it in the future, built upon a beautiful hilltop property they have chosen to donate just above the village settlement.

While discussing the needs of the growing congregation, local leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ discovered the settlement’s lack of clean water. Approval was then sought and given for a water project to help the entire community.

The settlement, Latter-day Saint Charities, and Church members with engineering and plumbing expertise, got to work to solve the problem. The villagers did their part by digging trenches to each individual home. The member engineers donated their time to scope the site, make recommendations, and execute the installation. The Church brought in a sturdy pump, a 10,000 litre water tank, solar panels to provide power, and all the fittings and pipes needed for faucets at each home. The well was dug 45 metres down to access fresh, artesian quality water for the community.

Willie Kwansing, a member of the Church in Suva, was an engineer who volunteered on the project. He remembers the day that he went to assess the site. He saw an older woman carrying two buckets of the unclean creek water up to the village. He offered to help her.

Willie said, “I was younger and stronger and I was out of breath. I could not believe how difficult it was to carry the heavy buckets up the hill.” That was when he really recognized the plight of the little community. He said, “I thought two things. How did anyone ever find this little place so hidden up here in the mountains? And, God knows them and loves all of His children.”

The scenery on the winding dirt road into the village in the early morning mist is breathtaking and soul-satisfying. It is pleasant to pull into the village to see it stirring awake as the people walk out their doors to get a drink at their faucets, to brush their teeth and to wash their faces in fresh water. It is even nicer to feel the warmth of their love for Christ. 

Pateresio “Roko” Rokonaiveno, who now serves as the leader of the congregation, is quick to tell his visitors “that it is a great blessing for us to get access to water, but we needed to get the gospel first.”