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The rural village of Heatoare, Papua New Guinea (PNG), is nestled in the Gulf District. The Relief Society sisters gather to practice hymns for an upcoming district conference. Young mothers sway as their pikinini (child) snuggles in their arms. Ol bubu meri (grandmothers) clutch their own hands, standing stalwart and steadfast. But only a few women need to hold a hymnbook with lyrics. Most do not need written lyrics. Everything they will sing is already deep in their hearts. At the cue of the chorister, two-part harmony fills the afternoon village air, expressing belief in and love for Jesus Christ. These women of the Relief Society have worshipped together in the Church for more than a decade—singing heaven-bound praises in their village language, or Tok Ples (language of the place). They are at home in their village, at home in their language, and at home in their worship. Faithful women of the Church can be found throughout the world. Papua New Guinea is no exception. Faithful women gather today in similar ways and for similar reasons in two stakes and twelve districts throughout Papua New Guinea.[1]

Members of the Heatoare Branch Relief Society choir practice a hymn for district conference. Courtesy of Carol McReynolds.

Papua New Guinea is a diverse island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, slightly north of Australia. It is the third-largest island-country in the world. The terrain is swampy to the southwest and tropical to the northeast. The Owen Stanley Mountain Range runs the length of the island and reaches a high point over thirteen thousand feet.[2] From time to time, the higher elevations will experience frost. Enhanced by volcanic activity, the fertile soil provides rich opportunities for self-sustenance and marketing of produce.

Having more than eight hundred languages in approximately six hundred islands, Papua New Guineans found communication within the nation and among foreigners to be challenging. Thus, Tok Pisin,[3] a creole pigeon for the native people and those from other nations to communicate, has evolved to become one of three national languages. English and Motu complete the triad. Tok Pisin has been an effective way, and for some the only way, to learn, understand, and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To appreciate the importance of Tok Pisin in learning, understanding, and choosing to live the gospel of Jesus Christ there, exploration of the daily life of a woman is imperative. Life in the rural village is simple. If one gardens, fishes, and hunts, provisions for survival are more than likely available. But if not, life is difficult. Women in remote villages such as Heatoare usually do not have immediate access to electricity or fresh running water. They work and do most of their chores in the daytime including fetching water from a stream or river.[4] Worship services are usually held in bush material chapels, typically made from the trunks of local trees and palm fronds with open air ventilation and rudimentary seating. Transport to and from lotu (church) is limited to walking for some distance or paddling a kenu (canoe) if the village is bordered by rivers. The weekly trek might include crossing through a river or hiking up and down a mountain. The Kila family of Delgolo, converts to the gospel, walked approximately ten and a half miles (17 km) round trip to church meetings at Ginigolo Branch in the Rigo District for many years. Adorned in her meriblouse (woman’s dress) and a billum (traditional woven bag) strapped around her forehead, coupled with her effervescent smile, Mea and her husband, Geno, would set out on their walk to Sunday services. When asked what time they would leave home to begin their walk, a hearty chuckle followed. “[We] do not have a watch. When the sun rises, [we] get dressed and start walking.”[5] The Avoa Torea and Haromeara Sarufa family, also converts to the church and with children in hand, reported walking for many years from Malalaua Village to Iosipi Bridge at a distance of seven miles (11 km). They would then hire river transport from a dinghy operator to worship in Heatoare Village with other members. Sometimes they would arrive a day in advance. After Sunday services, they retraced their steps home. Before joining the Church, family members would individually attend various denominations from time to time. But after their conversion, Avoa, Haromeara, and their children began attending church together as a family. Thus began the long walks week after week, month after month, and year after year. Sister Avoa was happy to know the truth of the gospel, and walking long distances did not matter to her, her husband, or her children because the gospel brought their family together.[6]

Map of the island of New Guinea, 1884, with New Caledonia inset. Papua New Guinea is the east half of the island. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Additional resources for village dwellers are limited. Access to formal education, medical services, and other essentials are difficult to obtain due to distance, lack of transportation, or lack of sufficient finances. Many sisters speak only Tok Ples, but if they have lived outside of the village or were fortunate to be educated, then possibly Tok Pisin and English.[7] Those who are bilingual or multilingual are a great asset to the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are monolingual in the village setting.

On the other hand, sisters who live in or near Port Moresby, the capital city, may have quite a different lifestyle. Their connection to their family village remains intact and strong, but their opportunities are vastly enhanced owing to the availability of resources.[8] Sisters in the city may live in settlements (makeshift, unsanctioned communities of dwellers), in single-family homes or in a village just outside of Port Moresby. Power and freshwater are available. Education is accessible, medical services are obtainable and opportunities for employment are at hand. Transportation modes expand from walking to include using the city bus system or public motor vehicles, affording accessibility to the many resources the city offers. Most sisters do not drive or have access to a personal vehicle, so public transportation and walking are the preferred methods of transport. Worship services may occur in brick-and-mortar chapels with power, bathroom facilities, Wi-Fi connection, and other amenities such as a parking lot that are typically associated with church premises in developed countries. Many sisters in the city still manage to grow a small flower or vegetable garden in their yard as homage to their village connection. Many maintain their Tok Ples and fluently speak multiple languages, sometimes three or more, including Tok Pisin and English.

Introduction of the Church

Above: Geno and Mea Kila of Ginigolo Banch, Rigo District walked many kilometers for many years to attend church. Courtesy of Ronette Taeoalii. Below: Avoa and Haromeara Sarufa of Malalaua Branch, Moveave District, walked many kilometers, then hired a dinghy to traverse the river to attend church with their young family. Courtesy of Voi Taeoalii.

The Church was introduced after the invasion of New Guinea (before the independence and the joining of two nations) in early 1942 as a direct result of World War II. After experiencing defeat in Midway, Japanese forces turned their attention to conquering the island nation. Invading the northeastern part of the island, the Japanese troops began a bloody trek toward Port Moresby via the Owen Stanley Mountain Range. Allied countries—Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, and others—united forces to save New Guinea and Papua.[9] Among the service personnel sent from America was a small host of members of the Church. Two known service groups were authorized to hold meetings to administer the sacrament from 1944 to 1945. These were the first known ordinances performed in the country.[10]

Post–World War II aid provided mainly by the Australian government helped to prepare the nation for independence. Offices, hospitals, schools, government buildings, banks, stores, roads, trails, bridges, and other essentials for restoring or creating accessibility to resources were built in concert with Australia and other entities. One of the most notable outcomes of the thirty-year plan toward national independence of Papua and New Guinea is the school system. Schools were built in the city, but also in the villages that were accessible by road. Thus, city children and some village children were afforded an education by Australian teachers in Australian-run schools in Papua New Guinea. Many Church leaders who were born after the war trace their education and credit their proficiency in English to these post–World War II village schools run by Australian teachers. These past and current leaders were and are fluent in Tok Ples, Tok Pisin, and English, enlarging the capacity of these leaders to minister and administer locally and abroad. On September 16, 1975, the countries of Papua and New Guinea were united as an independent nation.[11]

During this rebuilding period of Papua New Guinea, there were limited numbers of members living there. However, the few expatriate members from Australia that were living in Port Moresby were organized into a branch on March 1, 1961, with Robert Tebble called as the branch president. Linda Moran, daughter of Iris and Robert Tebble, remembered, “We had Sacrament, Sunday School, and Relief Society meetings in our home, and hosted visiting Church leaders and mission presidents. It was wonderful to have visitors attend meetings in our home in Boroko.”[12] By 1976 the Tebbles needed to return to Australia, and there is no evidence that the Port Moresby Branch continued for the next few years.

The country of Papua New Guinea had been assigned to the Australia Brisbane Mission. Under the supervision and guidance of mission president Keith Hubbard, the Port Moresby Branch was reopened on October 10, 1979, at the Medical Facility Auditorium. President Hubbard and his wife, Sister Viola Hubbard, were present along with new branch president Athol Pike, Pulotu Lautofa McCarthy, Rexona Sheppard, and members of the Christophers’ family. President Hubbard announced that the Saints in Port Moresby were to be organized into a branch.[13]

President Hubbard began the process of calling senior missionaries to serve in Papua New Guinea before his release. When Dennis Flake assumed mission leadership responsibilities, Elder L. Douglas and Sister Eva Johnson from Arizona were the first senior missionary couple called to serve in the Australia Brisbane Mission and assigned to Port Moresby.[14] The Church had not yet received approval for proselytizing, but the “field [was] ripe, already to harvest” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:4) with member referrals and member fellowshippers. One such referral came from an original 1979 Port Moresby Branch member, Pulotu Lautofa McCarthy, a budding medical student from Sāmoa studying at the University of Papua New Guinea.

Stories of Faithful Women in the Church

Anna Masike McCarthy (Wissink) on baptism day October 19, 1980. Courtesy of Anna Wissink.

Across the nation and on an island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, a young woman named Anna Masike from Bougainville Island was making plans to attend the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. Raised in the Catholic Church by her parents, she had a strong foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. Remarkably, Anna’s mother was unable to read or write but was determined her daughters be educated. Anna’s sister, Barbara, explained, “You see, our mother had never been to school so she could not read nor write. But as a wife of an early colonial policeman, she learnt to count and sew as well as be a good mother.”[15] And good mothers strive to offer the best they can to their children. Consequently, Anna was educated in the Catholic school system during her primary and secondary years and was looking forward to furthering her education in Port Moresby.

While a student at the University of Papua New Guinea, Anna met Fa Pulotu McCarthy, soon to be a doctor. A relationship blossomed, and she started to visit small church gatherings in the home of branch president Athol Pike. Anna remembers, “We met at his house for Sacrament Meetings with an Australian lady and her children, Dr. Fa, Rexona and I.” Slowly Anna was introduced to the Church, and she thought it “sounded good.” Recognizing the influence of her religious upbringing, she recalled, “I’m a born Catholic. I was born and raised a Catholic girl back in Bougainville [Island].” This background proved to be instrumental in helping her recognize restored truth. Elder and Sister Johnson helped Anna and Fa through the process for marriage. Anna was baptized along with others on October 19, 1980, in the swimming pool of the house Elder and Sister Johnson were renting. Anna’s recorded baptism date of October 19, 1980, makes her one of the first adult converts in Papua New Guinea. In those very early days of the Church, Anna remembers many converts participating in Sunday services, prompting church leaders to find a new place to meet—the YMCA building in Badili, Port Moresby. “That is where we met. I taught Sunday School under the mango tree. Then we moved to the Red Cross Hall,” Anna related.[16]

Although the Church began to grow in Port Moresby and surrounding areas, proselytizing was not yet approved by the government. Recognition was being solicited by senior missionaries, but the task was arduous and complicated. Anna and Fa were able to contribute to the progress of the Church by gaining government recognition through their association with a member of Parliament who was affiliated with the minister of religion. Fa and Anna invited the husband and wife to dinner, and an inquiry of government recognition was proposed. His response was positive, and a bill was soon advanced through Parliament to approve the recognition of the Church throughout the nation. The official organization of the Church proceeded.[17]

The year 1983 proved to be a banner year for Church growth. Mauveri and Vaiba Rome (pronounced row-may), baptized earlier in February 1981,[18] became the first PNG couple to be endowed and sealed in the temple.[19] Senior missionaries, Elder Joseph and Sister Signe Ikhaml, assisted the Romes on their maiden trip to the Hamilton New Zealand Temple. President Flake of the Australia Brisbane Mission shared feelings as he witnessed their sealing:

One of the most sacred experiences of our lives occurred in January 1983 in the New Zealand Temple. Nine mission presidents and their wives and three General Authorities: Elders Ashton, Pinegar and Goaslind with their wives were present when Viaba [sic] and Mauvera [sic] were sealed in that lovely temple. Now in the temple of God that beautiful black Melanesian couple dressed in pure white clothing, the very first of their people, were sealed together as husband and wife for time and all eternity. We wept as we felt the sacredness of that occasion. As I observed them, through tear-filled eyes, it seemed, instead of just one couple, they were in reality an entire nation receiving the blessings of the House of the Lord. Countless lives on both sides of the veil will be blessed by the events of that day.[20]

As one studies the growth of the Church in Papua New Guinea over the years, Vaiba Rome has served and continues to serve in many leadership positions blessing the lives of many far and near. But it was his wife, Mauveri, who initially had the faith to ask for divine help at a time of great personal need.

Mauveri Rome (right) and members of the extended Rome family attend church in Girabu Branch, Rigo District. Courtesy of Voi Taeoalii.

Mauveri recalled that Elder Douglas and Sister Nita Campbell, senior missionaries from the Australia Brisbane Mission, were proselytizing in Two-Mile Settlement, Port Moresby, and met up with the Romes’ daughters. They talked for a bit and left. The next day they returned with lollies (candy) in their pockets. The children were enamored by the Americans with lollies. The Romes’ daughters each took a lollie and then escorted the missionaries back to their home, where they introduced them to their mother. Mauveri admits she was not initially interested in their message, but neither was she opposed that they teach her children gospel lessons. Then a serious illness beset the children. This caused Mauveri to search for divine help. She remembered, “My daughters were very sick, three girls, and I took them to the hospital. So I asked for the blessing from the missionaries, Elder Campbell. So they gave a blessing. From that time they were healed. So I said that was the true church, so I was converted and I got baptized. Later, one week later, my husband was baptized.”[21]

The Romes returned to Vaiba’s home village of Girabu, where more family members joined the Church, suffering much persecution during those early times.[22] That resilient faithfulness compelled Vaiba and Mauveri Rome to help prepare a group of 138 local Saints to attend the Sydney Australia Temple. The Saints sacrificed much to make this historic pilgrimage. One such example of sacrifice is “Avara Vivia [who] baked scones and sold them at the market to pay transportation costs to the temple for herself, her husband Kauri, and six children.”[23] Many PNG Saints have been blessed by the service of Vaiba and Mauveri Rome. And it all started with Mauveri’s willingness to exercise faith in Jesus Christ on behalf of her ill daughters. Concludes Mauveri, “I have a great testimony of this true Church. I have felt something that has blessed me through my life till now.”[24]

In March 1983 Elder Rex D. Pinegar and President Dennis Flake organized the first district, known as the Port Moresby District. The land of Papua New Guinea was soon dedicated by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve. President Dennis Flake reflects,

Then came the historic occasion in April 1983 for which all had been preparing and praying—the dedication of that beautiful nation for the preaching of the gospel and establishment of the Lord’s Kingdom. Hundreds of the saints climbed to a saddle in the hills between two peaks overlooking their humble villages, the site of their future chapel and the blue waters of the South Pacific. As he [Elder Perry] was praying a brilliant rainbow appeared in the darkened sky before him. The vivid colors in stark contrast to the blackness of the storm clouds seemed to symbolize the Lord’s acceptance of our labors, and His promise to bless the people of that land throughout the years and generations yet to come.[25]

Conversions continued and more branches were organized, some outside of Port Moresby. The groundbreaking for the building of the first brick-and-mortar chapel was held in December of 1983. This building, named Gabutu Chapel, serves as the stake center for Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Stake today.

Anna Masike McCarthy remained faithful in the gospel even as these many changes related to the growth of the Church advanced. Branch boundaries were realigned, and she became a member of Koki Branch in Port Moresby. It was a challenging and difficult time of growth. There were many people who were “less fortunate than myself.” She was reassured, “I think the people there need you. That’s why you’ve been called to go there.” Anna served in Koki Branch Relief Society and other capacities seeking to help nourish the word in the hearts and minds of her newfound sisters. Her abilities as a multilinguist helped bridge the wide gap between those from varying provinces and villages. She often taught simple basic principles of the gospel in Tok Pisin.

Anna’s firsthand account of the Church in the early days is valuable in appreciating the current state of the Church in Port Moresby. “It was not a smooth road in the first place, but I feel so blessed and am stronger than ever in my faith in Jesus Christ,”[26] remarked Anna. She mentioned, “When I go to Port Moresby now and I sit in Korobosea Ward, and I am like, wow! It’s so different.” Notable is the fact that in 1983 there was one district. Forty years later in 2023, there are two missions, two stakes, twelve districts, and a planned temple in Port Moresby that was announced by President Russell M. Nelson in the women’s session of general conference in October 2019. Groundbreaking services were held at Muniogo Crescent in Badili on April 22, 2023.[27] Anna’s son, Moasope McCarthy, currently serves as the Stake President for the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Stake.

Anna Masike Wissink continues to serve in Relief Society helping sisters to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ in Tok Pisin. Courtesy of Voi Taeoalii.

Anna has witnessed the growth in strength and capacity of the Church in PNG since the early 1980s. She was there in those early days of sacrament meetings in the living room of President Pike. She taught under a mango tree in those early days after relocating to a larger meeting place in Badili. She attended the church meeting when the first new branches were created. She climbed Konedobu Hill overlooking villages such as Badili for the dedication of the land by Elder L. Tom Perry. And she heard the announcement of the temple location in Badili, Port Moresby. This has been a “full circle experience” for Anna to realize the temple will sit on Muniogo Crescent in Badili, overlooking the area where early congregants once gathered to worship.[28]

Today Anna Masike Wissink is a Relief Society president, teaching the sisters in Yalu Branch, Lae District (created in 2017) to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ in all aspects of their lives. She uses Tok Pisin to minister and administer. Her husband, David, also a convert to the Church and fluent in Tok Pisin, serves with her in Yalu Branch. It is a fairly new church unit experiencing those long-ago familiar struggles. Anna recognized, “When I am teaching at Church, . . . I want to get [in] a lot more gospel principles. We need that more because people need to learn the basics. [So] I am back at the forefront, trying to help build.”[29]

Anna is back at the forefront of building a branch forty years later. The forefront includes befriending Sister Julie Lawrence Jerryhahu, baptized in 1994 at Raun Wara (Round Water), who raised her four sons and one daughter in the gospel. To acquire needed mission funds for three of her sons, she bought cabbage and other produce at the local market, then resold them at the little community where she lived to earn some kina (PNG currency). Eventually, this led to her being noticed by Sister Ruta Peteru, serving with her husband as the first mission leaders in Lae, to invite Sister Julie to work in a newly created position. This opportunity enhanced Sister Julie’s earning ability and enabled her to obtain the funds needed to support her three sons as they each served as missionaries. “Me hamamas stret! Me save lo gospel em tru” (I am very happy. I know the gospel is true), Julie confidently expressed.[30] Other forefront needs include assisting widows, self-reliance, education and learning home management skills such as health, hygiene, sewing and cooking.[31] Many sisters assist in this forefront effort, helping those from the village, settlement, or other circumstances who might speak only Tok Ples or Tok Pisin.

Anna’s enthusiasm for living the gospel of Jesus Christ was noticeable and influential to others. Many years ago her younger sister Barbara, then seventeen and also being educated in Catholic schools, was traveling between Bougainville Island and East Sepik, the home village of their mother, to attend secondary school. Barbara stayed with Anna’s family for about a week in Port Moresby and attended church and other youth-related activities. Unlike Anna, Barbara was not readily converted. She continued pursuing education and eventually settled with her traditional husband to begin their family.[32]

It was not until Barbara’s children were beginning to grow and life’s experiences demanded more than what she knew that Anna was able to invite her sister again to learn more of the gospel. Barbara could see the hope-filled life Anna led and eventually agreed to listen to the gospel in discussion with the missionaries. Barbara was baptized in 1999 along with her oldest son who was of age and began her life journey on the covenant path with her children.[33]

Barbara’s experience with Relief Society was similar to Anna’s. Barbara said, “Relief Society also taught me a lot. The Relief Society has been like a mother to me because many things we don’t learn. We don’t go to the university to learn about being parents. Relief Society has really taught me to be a good mother, a good wife and to be a good sister to others. [It’s] about service and being an example of the Savior.”[34] Barbara began to serve and continued to serve in the Relief Society both at the branch and district levels. As her view of the positive effect Relief Society had on the women of the Church grew, she noted, “The gospel has given the women in the church in PNG purpose and knowledge of being a daughter of God. It has given them the strength and courage to continue to endure to the end despite the many challenging situations they have been [in] and are faced with.”[35]

Barbara’s faith in Jesus Christ helped her raise her children in the gospel with the support of her husband, Martin, who was not a member of the Church at the time. One such example is when her second-born son, Raymond, became of age to serve a full-time mission in 2012. But there were challenges in their family life. Barbara recalled her husband was bedridden at this time. But she felt reassured because Raymond was an obedient, faithful boy. Barbara remembered vividly that he once asked her, “Mum, should I go on a mission when Dad is sick like this?” Barbara advised her son, “You pray. And whatever you feel in your heart, you do it. But I think you should go.” Raymond followed his mother’s wise counsel and through prayer received the confirmation that he should serve a mission.[36]

On a later occasion his grandmother asked him, “Raymond, why are you going to go when your dad is sick like this?” Raymond told his grandmother, “Bubu [grandparent], if I don’t go on a mission my father is not going to get better.”[37]

Barbara testified, “The day he [Raymond] was picked up by the missionaries [to be set apart then depart for the Missionary Training Center in New Zealand], his father walked. His father got up from the bed and walked. That was a miracle.”[38] Barbara credits the gospel for helping her to apply faith in Jesus Christ in raising her family.

Soon after he was healed from the illness, Martin became more open to hearing the gospel. Eventually in 2017, Barbara and Martin were civilly married, and Martin was later baptized a member of the Church. Two of their sons have served missions, and one has served as a branch president.[39] In reflecting on these life experiences, Barbara summarized, “The thing that keeps me going is my testimony and knowledge that God is my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ is His Son and my Savior and that I can have the Holy Ghost when I am worthy and in need of His comfort [and] that I am in the right place. More recently, since I have been to the temple, it is the knowledge of the ordinances that I have taken and the need to do my part and uphold them.”[40]

Translation of Church Materials to Tok Pisin

While raising their children, Barbara worked as a journalist for a Tok Pisin newspaper. She wrote articles in her mother tongue. She credits her parents, who were from different provinces and different Tok Ples, for helping her learn the intricacies of Tok Pisin. “The language we spoke growing up [in the home] was Tok Pisin. I’m grateful that was the case because it helped me to have a good command of the Tok Pisin language.”[41] Anna and Barbara also learned English and Siwai, Tok Ples of their father’s village in Bougainville Island.[42]

Barbara Masike Liri, translator of Church materials to Tok Pisin. Courtesy of Voi Taeoalii.

Later Barbara worked in the conservation of nature industry, which required some travel to other countries. Barbara felt strongly to make a career change without any specific direction or specific opportunity. Unbeknownst to Barbara, the Church was at the same time looking for a contract Tok Pisin translator. Barbara applied and was hired. Since her hiring, she has helped to translate into Tok Pisin “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” various general conference addresses, Come, Follow Me; Preach My Gospel; and General Handbook.[43] Anna has helped to translate the Doctrine and Covenants, general conference addresses, and other church materials.[44] Barbara recognized the impact of translating such materials. “One of the first things I had to do was to bring passages from Buk Momon (Book of Mormon) and Doktrin na ol Kavenen (Doctrine and Covenants). I had to take those out to several of the branches and conduct reading sessions, especially in Lae because people speak Tok Pisin [but not necessarily English]. The joy I felt was when people’s eyes just lit up because they understood the gospel. They felt the Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to be involved in Your Work, in Your Vineyard in this way.”[45]

Barbara concludes, “Just seeing people’s eyes light up when we ask the question, ʻWas this clear for you? Do you feel the Spirit?’ You know these old people they are like [Tok Pisin] ʻYa, me pla pilim Spirit stret taim me pla ridim Tok Pisin.’ (We feel the Spirit when we read in Tok Pisin). [When you speak to them] in English, you just get them to nod. But when they actually hear it [the gospel in Tok Pisin], and then it makes them speak because they can feel it [the Spirit]. When you get the response from them, you know they are getting the message.”[46] And helping to bring the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ “unto the hearts of the children of men” (2 Nephi 33:1) in the Tok Pisin language to so many in Papua New Guinea is a privilege, joy, and blessing to Anna and Barbara.

It is the faith of women like Anna, Barbara, Julie, Mauveri, Mea, Avoa, and Avara, and many others that are the strength of the Church in Papua New Guinea. They have been faithful to the covenants they have made in the waters of baptism and the holy temple of God. They exemplified their faith in Jesus Christ in small and grand ways: selling scones to pay for transportation to the temple, walking for long distances to gather for Sabbath worship, selling cabbage to fund missionary service, asking for a blessing for your ill children, or translating scriptures and other church materials. These sisters and many more just like them have the faith to act on spiritual impressions to live the gospel to its fullest and offer the same to others whether it be in Tok Pisin, Tok Ples, or English.

Notes

Anna Wissink passed away on May 14, 2024.

[1] “Facts and Statistics: Papua New Guinea,” 2023, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[2] Aaron Maizlish, “Papua New Guinea, Ultra-Prominence Page: 31 Mountains with Prominence of 1,500 m. or Greater,” 2004, http://www.peaklist.org.

[3] Geoff P. Smith, “Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea: Phonology,” in The Pacific and Australasia, ed. Kate Burridge and Bernd Kortmann (Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 188–209.

[4] “Papua New Guinea: Clean Water Access to End the Walk for Water for Women and Girls,” March 20, 2018, https://www.worldbank.org.

[5] S. Gifford Nielsen, email to author, August 13, 2023.

[6] Steven Sarufa, email to author, August 7, 2023.

[7] A.V., “Papua New Guinea’s Incredible Linguistic Diversity,” The Economist, July 20, 2017, https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/07/20/papua-new-guineas-incredible-linguistic-diversity.

[8] Alice Kassens and Yana Rodgers, “Health and Distance to Healthcare in Papua New Guinea,” 2019, https://www.researchgate.net.

[9] Samuel Eliot Morison, Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II (Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 1950), 30–40.

[10] 2013 Church Almanac: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013).

[11] Patrick Boyce, “From the Archives, 1975: Australia’s Flag Lowered as PNG Gains Independence,” The Age, https://www.theage.com.au.

[12] “Memories of Growing up in Latter-day Saint Branch in Papua New Guinea,” December 6, 2021, https://news-pacific.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[13] Australia Brisbane Mission annual historical reports, 1978–1983, 1988–1998, 2002–2009, 2012, 2014–2021; 1982–1983, Church History Library.

[14] “�鶹��ý - Papua New Guinea,” 2023, https://pacific.churchofjesuschrist.org/png-aboutus.

[15] Masike-Liri, Barbara. “My Mother’s Belly Beckons-Part 3,” The National, November 11, 2016.

[16] Anna Wissink, interview by Eric-Jon K. Marlowe, November 14, 2022, Lae, Papua New Guinea.

[17] Wissink, interview.

[18] Alan Wakeley, “Members Make Historic Trip to Temple,” Church News, December 2, 1991.

[19] “Papua New Guinea: Church Chronology,” Global Histories: Papua New Guinea (n.d.).

[20] Dennis Flake, interview, Brisbane, Australia, 1983.

[21] “Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Mission 25th Anniversary” (self-pub., 2017).

[22] “Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Mission 25th Anniversary.”

[23] Wakeley, “Members Make Historic Trip to Temple.”

[24] “Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Mission 25th Anniversary.”

[25] Flake, Brisbane, Australia, 1983.

[26] Anna Wissink, email to author, February 6, 2023.

[27] “Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple,” 2023, https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org.

[28] Anna Wissink, interview by Eric-Jon K. Marlowe, November 14, 2022, Lae, Papua New Guinea.

[29] Wissink, interview.

[30] Julie Lawrence Jerryhahu, interview by Ronette K. Taeoalii, translated by Lulu Hota November 14, 2022, Lae, Papua New Guinea.

[31] Anna Wissink, email to author, February 13, 2023.

[32] Barbara Masike-Liri, interview by Eric-Jon K. Marlowe, November 16, 2022, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

[33] Masike-Liri, interview.

[34] Masike-Liri, interview.

[35] Masike-Liri, interview.

[36] Masike-Liri, interview.

[37] Masike-Liri, interview.

[38] Masike-Liri, interview.

[39] Masike-Liri, interview.

[40] Masike-Liri, email to author, February 12, 2023.

[41] Masike-Liri, interview.

[42] Masike-Liri, email to author, February 17, 2023.

[43] Masike-Liri, email to author, February 12, 2023.

[44] Wissink, email to author, February 13, 2023.

[45] Masike-Liri, interview.

[46] Masike-Liri, interview.