Aunu’u island has a special place in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s where missionaries baptised the first church members in the Samoan Islands in 1866.
Last weekend, members of the Church on Aunu’u were delighted to meet with Elder K. Brett Nattress, from the Pacific Area Presidency, accompanied by Elder Faapito Auapa’au, the Area Seventy for American Samoa, and President Sonny Aiono.
Elder Nattress was on island to attend the groundbreaking of the LDS Temple in Ottoville.
He said about his visit to Aunuu, “I was deeply touched by the experience of meeting the wonderful Saints in Aunu’u. Their faith in Jesus Christ and devoted discipleship are inspiring.”
Lotoa Lotoa Jr. Bishop of the Aunuu Ward who greeted the visitors said, “It was such a great experience and blessing for us to have these Church leaders visit our small Island.
“It feels so good to have them set foot here and to shake their hands.”
He said that Elder Nattress wanted to see the island up close so he and his party walked around the entire island before returning to the small chapel for a traditional Samoan lunch of fish and taro.
Many ward members were there including some pioneer members who recounted the history of the island and the Church there.
One of the stories shared was about the construction of the new chapel on the island.
“There was a need for a lot of sand to make it possible to build on the site,” said Dr Kalilimoku Hunt, National Communication Director for the Church in American Samoa. “The only source was from the deeper part of the ocean which would have been a great expense. On the day that we were coming over to do the work, there had been a lot of rain the night before, but on that morning the sea was calm and the sun was bright. When we got to the site, there was a huge pile of sand on the field where the work was to be done. That is why a lot of the people who saw that called it the miracle of the sand.”
Bishop Lotoa summed up Elder Nattress’ visit to Aunuu: “I’ve only been a bishop for about a year and in the short time we were walking around together, Elder Nattress taught me so much, like how to take special care of our young people. So today, I had a meeting with each one of them and tried to get them ready to receive a temple recommend so that they can be ready and worthy to start doing baptisms the day the temple opens.”
Source:LDS Pacific Newsroom
