Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visited Fiji on Palm Sunday, 24 March, and Monday 25 March—accompanied by Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Presiding Bishop of the Church, Bishop Gérald Caussé.
Elder Taniela B. Wakolo of the Pacific Area Presidency travelled with the visiting Church leaders.
Sister Jill Johnson, Sister Valérie Caussé, and Sister Anita Wakolo accompanied their husbands.
The visitors met with several members and friends of the Church at the beginning of Easter's Holy Week.
DOWNLOADOn Palm Sunday, Elder Rasband and other visiting leaders met in Nadi with Church leaders from Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands. Meetings focused on helping local leaders to assist Church members to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband in Nadi, Fiji on Palm Sunday, 24 March 2024.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband in Nadi, Fiji on Palm Sunday, 24 March 2024.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.At a nearby Church meetinghouse, more leaders of the Church from Fiji congregations gathered. They discussed ways to help children, youth, young adults, singles, and families to live and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
DOWNLOADOn Monday, 25 March, Elder Rasband and Elder Wakolo met with Fiji’s Prime Minister, Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka, in central Suva. The leaders discussed some of the humanitarian and education initiatives of the Church in Fiji, among other issues and opportunities.
DOWNLOADBishop and Sister Caussé—accompanied by Douglas Martin, the Church’s Pacific Area Director for Temporal Affairs, and his wife, Sister Evelyn Martin—visited the Pacific Eye Institute in Suva. During a tour of the facility, General Manager, Kirti Prasad, thanked the visitors for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ support of the clinic over the last few years.
Pacific Eye Institute, Suva, Fiji. 25 March 2024.
Bishop Gérald Caussé visits the Pacific Eye Institute in Suva, Fiji on 25 March 2024.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Pacific Eye Institute, which is supported by the Fred Hollows Foundation, helped over 18,000 people with eye care last year, including vision-improving surgeries.
Pacific Eye Institute, Suva, Fiji.
Pacific Eye Institute, Suva, Fiji.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.In another part of Suva, Elder Johnson and Elder Wakolo met with leaders from the Sai Prema Heart Foundation Hospital. Pratin Lal and Namrata Tappoo explained to the guests that the hospital—which has only been open for two years—has helped 260 children with free heart surgeries. All operations are performed by visiting volunteer cardiac surgeons.
One child whose life has been changed for the better by volunteer doctors and staff at the hospital, 18-months-old Makereta, slept peacefully during the meeting with Church and hospital leaders.
Her mother, Naomi, happily reported that Makereta is thriving since her open-heart surgery at the hospital in February 2023, when she was just five months old.
Elder Paul V. Johnson greets Naomi and her daughter, Makereta, in Suva, Fiji. 25 March 2024.
Elder Paul V. Johnson greets Naomi and her daughter, Makereta, in Suva, Fiji. 25 March 2024. © 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Church has supported the hospital with donated equipment to expand its care; as well funds to enable children and families to travel to Suva to receive life-saving and life-enhancing surgeries.
Elder Johnson said that the visit was a tender experience for him, as members of his and Sister Johnson’s family have experienced significant health challenges.
“We thank you so much and know what medical care—like that which you provide—means to parents and grandparents,” Elder Johnson said.
Earlier in the day, Elder Johnson visited with leaders and teachers of the Church’s high school and primary school in Suva.