Malaita · Solomon Islands
August 5, 2026
The work here continues at an amazing pace!
we are in the hands of God
The work here continues at an amazing pace! We cannot find words to express how much we love these missionaries and how great it is to be with them, especially when they are teaching! It is inspiring to hear them teach the gospel and share their testimonies!
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It’s been so amazing to be living on Guadalcanal during the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and during the anniversary of the US Marines landing on Guadalcanal, August 7th, 1942.
Around here it’s definitely been ‘Merica. We were invited by the US Embassy to a reception for the 250th and we visited the memorial of the US servicemen that lost their lives during the intense fighting with the Japanese here in the Solomon Islands. Gotta love our men and women in uniform!
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We love having Family Home Evening with the Elders and Sisters! It is so fun to get together, have a good meal, talk about the gospel, learn from each other and our various backgrounds and experiences, and then leave better prepared to live our missionary purpose of inviting all to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end!
We’ve had such great experiences with each FHE we’ve had (Although some of our senior couples are pictured here, it is more common to have the missionaries in each of our four homes. We could not do it without the amazing senior missionaries that are here sacrificing so much to serve the Lord)!
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On P-day we visited Amazing Grace Cocoa Farm & Garden Tours in Tenaru Beach, Guadalcanal, SI - it was so fun! This woman pictured has grown her Cocoa Farm from 600 trees to 1500! She wanted to leave something for her grandchildren!
We got to be with our senior missionaries and spend time seeing how cocoa is produced as well as all of the other things that Grace, a devout member of another faith, is producing on her family plantation.
Mom was a rock star on this excursion husking coconuts, finding the bananas, taking pics and just having a great time with the family of one of the senior couples that was visiting Solomon Islands to see Grandma and Grandpa White! Super fun day!
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Finally, we’re not totally sure how to explain this last portion of the letter. Our missionaries work and teach with purpose and although that is true of missionaries around the world, this corner of the world, seemingly forgotten for so long, is blossoming! These baptisms are so spirit filled but it doesn’t end there. Members are going to the temple and being sealed as families. They are also sending out their children as missionaries. Some of these missionaries have been members less than 18 months but they want to share what they have experienced since being helped to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! The entire gathering of Israel is on display here and we love our small part in it!
The O’mae’s - from the little Island of Ulawa, baptized the end of 2024 - here pictured at the airport on their way to the Hamilton, New Zealand Temple
Elder Samia - baptized early last year, here in Honiara, and back to serve his mission while he waits for his visa to Papua New Guinea. He’s an amazing young man, the only member in his family so far, here pictured with his Dad who came to the airport to see him!
Here is the Fanasia family! They returned a couple of weeks ago from being sealed in the temple. They are pictured here, just after their oldest daughter, Jacklyn, was set apart for her mission to Australia Adelaide! Jacklyn was baptized in March of 2025!
Goodbye to the Naha House! This picture is from the top of the steep muddy stairs and path that our sister’s had to climb up and down to their house. Their power and water would often go out. They are so courageous and would never complain. We are so happy we found a better place for them. They said over and over that the new place is “too nice.”
It was so great to tell them that it’s because we need them to sleep, eat, shower, have a place to study and prepare to serve the Lord each and every day. And, of course, because we love them!
These missionaries come from all over the world, like Vanuatu, Papa New Guinea, and Monticello, Utah to serve the Lord! All our senior missionaries help so much— pictured here are the Boyd’s. We could not do this without them!
We can only imagine the stories that this group of amazings will live!
This is a photo of faith and belief in Jesus Christ! You can see Elder Taliafi’s arm around Elder Wilkerson (who just arrived from the USA) and Elder Lavemaau. We love all of our missionaries so much! They are so loving and help each other adjust to and cope with missionary life here in the Solomon Islands! I think they will be friends forever! We always tell them that they are ours forever!
Got a “brand newbie” from the States this week! Elder Wilkerson is from Utah County and is doing great his first week here! He was tired, as everyone is after 24 hours of travel, but had the best of attitude’s and is excited to serve the Lord! Once again, so grateful for our senior missionaries! Here are Elder and Sister Boyd meeting him at the airport because we were on the island of Malaita when he arrived!
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Malaita! What an amazing island!
We think we’re the first mission leaders to step foot on this island! What a cool experience to be with the eight missionaries there and the members of the two branches in Auki and Fauabu (pronounced FU-ahm-bu).
The Lord’s hand is in the Gathering of Israel all over the world! Sometimes it looks like mistakes and struggles of mortality, but it really is all overseen by a loving God that is pulling off more than we can possibly imagine.
Here’s one example
Life on outer islands is not life on Guadalcanal and, needless to say, is not life in the States. Here are three pics of a process here.
This is the mission vehicle on Malaita. It is heaven sent. Without it, life would be so much harder, close to impossible. But even getting diesel fuel for it is a challenge. So, this morning a ship came in and had a barrel of diesel that we had purchased. The process is to get it from the ship to the area where gas and diesel are stored. Then, the missionaries go to a shed, where we lock up our diesel and they get the empty drum. They then transport the empty drum to the storage area and exchange it for a full drum of diesel (think propane tank exchange - that is what most closely resembles this process). Once you get the full drum back to the storage shed, you pump the diesel into pitchers and fill it up one pitcher at a time (for a full tank it’s about 16).
On this day, all looked good. We had enough missionaries (these are not light) and we got back to the storage shed, pretty smoothly. But it was gas, not diesel. They had given us the wrong drum. Back to the petrol area.
Once the switch had been done, we got back to the storage shed but the keys to the locks were no where to be found. We looked and looked. Back of the truck, under the seats, in the grass all around, but nada. They had to be somewhere because you can’t lock the locks without the keys. But nothing. So, back to the area where we picked up the full drum of diesel went Elders Lungren and Toki.
Meanwhile, while we waited, we had a great convo with Danny. The shop owner right next to the shed. He agreed to having Elder Peterson and Kaufusi come back and meet with him and his wife. Then, two guys on bikes rolled up. They had found the keys!
While we talked to them, a bus stopped and a guy jumped out. Turns out, he was someone that Elder Peterson had spoken with before but he was usually in a super remote part of the island but today, just at that time, he was coming to stay close by for one night. He’s the one in the photo of me pouring in the diesel, with the water bottle in his hand. Elder Peterson was so glad to see him and they set an appointment to meet the next day.
Finally, Elder Lungren pulls up. Really worried about not having found the keys and was so relieved that we had them and that they had been found!
Here’s the point - had everything gone according to plan, we would have been long gone and we wouldn’t have talked to any of them. I think there was even one more that I didn’t know of that they talked to. I know for sure that Elder Peterson talked to another in the store we went to later in the day and got an appointment to meet with him and his family as well. We felt His guidance at church too—both in Auki and Fauaba and at the baptism in the ocean. The children pictured with the missionaries were in the trees watching the baptism.
In the hands of God
I just know that this is true - “O how great is the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.” 2 Nephi 9:20
I also know that this is true - “Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God?” Mormon 5:23
We are seeing it evridai evridai as they say here.