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Elder Wakolo meets with president of the Republic of Kiribati

Elder and Sister Wakolo presented His Excellency Taneti Maamau and first lady Teiraeng Maamau with a framed picture of Jesus Christ

Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Pacific Area presidency, met with the president of the Republic of Kiribati, His Excellency Taneti Maamau, and first lady Teiraeng Maamau during a dinner reception at the State House in Bairiki, Tarawa, Kiribati, on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Elder Wakolo and his wife, Sister Anita Wakolo, and Elder Iotua Tune, an Area Seventy, and his wife, Sister Maii Tune, presented the president and first lady with a framed picture of Jesus Christ and thanked the couple for being champions of religious freedom. 

Kiribati (pronounced Kee-ree-bus) is a collection of more than 30 Micronesian islands in the mid-Pacific, near where the equator and international dateline meet. 

A map showing Vanuatu, Fiji, Kiribati and Australia.
Kiribati is a collection of more than 30 Micronesian islands where the equator meets the international dateline in the mid-Pacific. | Church News graphic

The Church has grown steadily in the island country. The first stake was created in 1996 by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Today, the country is home to roughly 22,000 Latter-day Saints in 42 congregations. 

Elder Wakolo invited President Maamau to attend the upcoming, but not yet scheduled, groundbreaking and open house of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple, which President Russell M. Nelson announced in October 2020 general conference.

An exterior rendering of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple, released May 19, 2021.
An exterior rendering of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple, released May 19, 2021. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Two small choirs of former Latter-day Saint missionaries provided music for the occasion. They had returned home to Kiribati after serving in Kiribati, Africa, Australia, the United States, England and the Philippines.

According to the Church’s Pacific Newsroom, Maamau told the returned missionaries, “Your country is very proud of all of you.”

During Elder Wakolo’s visit, he also traveled with the Kiribati vice president, Honourable Teuea Toatu, and his wife, Madam Toatu, to Abaiang Island, where they met the mayor, Madam Neilson Ua Ariera, and presented a donation of laptops. The screens will help to enhance teaching in secondary schools.

Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, and his wife, Sister Anita H. Wakolo, greet people in Kiribati, where they met with the president and presented a donation of laptops to secondary schools in January 2023.
Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, and his wife, Sister Anita H. Wakolo, greet people in Kiribati, where they met with the president and presented a donation of laptops to secondary schools in January 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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