Saints from Tiny Pacific Island Attend Temple on a Landmark Trip

In late September 2005, a group of Saints from the island of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia made a journey west to the Manila Philippines Temple. This trip, which took them thousands of miles from their tiny island in the Pacific, was the first temple excursion from the island of Chuuk.

The group consisted of three sisters and two families from the Mwan and Mechitiw Branches of the Namoneas Chuuk District. They were accompanied by Elder Gordon and Sister Jerry Stewart, a senior missionary couple.

They spent four days doing temple work for themselves and for their ancestors. Members of the group expressed gratitude for the rare opportunity of receiving their temple blessings and felt it worthy of all their sacrifices to be able to do so. “I may someday be able to buy another little boat, but I will probably never have the chance to go to the temple again,” said Simion Anap, president of the Mechitiw Branch.

As part of the trip, President Anap’s family reunited with their daughter, Tersy, as she completed her mission in the Philippines Manila Mission.

The Namoneas Chuuk District is part of the Micronesia-Guam Mission and is located approximately 600 miles (966 km) southeast of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The first missionaries started teaching there in the late 1970s, and branches were established in the 1980s. Today, there are nearly 1,300 members of the Church on Chuuk, which has a population of 60,000 people. The Church organization now consists of one district and four branches on the main island and five branches scattered throughout other islands within the Chuuk lagoon. Sixteen missionaries and the senior missionary couple, the Stewarts, serve in this area.

Members from the Namoneas Chuuk District travelled thousands of miles to attend the Manila Philippines Temple.