Taylor Avei, a young man from Farmington, Utah, served a full-time mission for the Church in Samoa. But according to Mormon Newsroom, two years just hadn't been enough.
"During my mission, I felt nothing but pure love," Avei told Mormon Newsroom. "And I made a promise that somehow I would come back and serve the Samoan people again in order to show them the same love that was given to me on my mission.”
Avei, whose father is a native Samoan, recently returned to the island and the people he loves. Thanks to a Rheumatic Relief study abroad program sponsored by Brigham Young University and his interest in studying medicine, Avei found a new way to serve the people of Samoa.
During his time with the BYU study abroad program, Avei also learned of certain medical conditions to which people in the Pacific are genetically predisposed.
"I had the privilege to translate for our cardiologist as he gave a very heavy diagnosis to a five-year old girl who had severe mitral stenosis, which is a narrowing/hardening of a heart valve, vital in pumping blood to the body," Avei said of his recent expeirences in Samoa.
Avei explained that his time in Samoa helped solidify his plans to attend medical school, and that he hopes to combine his interests in research and clinical work.
Read the full story here.
