A small group of Latter-day Saints lives in Seychelles, which is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa.
A group is smaller than a branch. For now, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there meet under the direction of the Kenya Nairobi East Mission.
When Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles went to Seychelles on assignment in October, he experienced one of the “miraculous things” he said can happen in his work.
Recently, Elder Rasband was assigning missionaries as part of his duties in the Twelve. On his screen came the names Evan Healy and Marie Healy.
“I felt inspired to assign them as the first missionaries to the Republic of Seychelles,” Elder Rasband wrote in a post on social media. “By divine design, just two weeks later, I was in Seychelles and set them apart as full-time missionaries.”
Mission President David T. Onekawa said the Healys have been living in Australia and moved to the Seychelles in July. Sister Healy is a native of Seychelles and has friends and family there. Elder Rasband set them apart as the first full-time missionaries in Seychelles on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Elder Healy told Elder Rasband, “Previous to you setting us apart, we’ve been working with people, and it’s just a privilege to try to gather and to work.”
In the video with the social media post, Elder Rasband asked Sister Healy how she felt. She responded that she felt fantastic and humbled to serve. “You being assigned to our applications was not a coincidence,” she said.
Elder Rasband also called Elder Healy to be group leader and Sister Healy to lead the Relief Society.
Said Elder Rasband: “They are ready to launch forth the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this land. I am grateful for all missionaries who diligently serve as the Lord’s emissaries around the world.”
After his meeting with the Latter-day Saints on the island, Elder Rasband said, “We have prayed together, and we are very grateful for it.”
Meeting with government officials in Seychelles and Ethiopia
On Oct. 29, Elder Rasband became the first leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to meet with a top government leader of Seychelles, when he met Sebastien Pillay, the new vice president of Seychelles, just one day after Pillay’s inauguration.
In the meeting, Elder Rasband was accompanied by Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Presidency of the Seventy and Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa Central Area.
“We spoke briefly about their administration’s focus in the future and about our Church and our focus on Jesus Christ,” Elder Rasband wrote in a post on social media.
Elder Rasband presented the vice president with a copy of the Book of Mormon and another copy to share with the president.
“We look forward to an ongoing relationship as the gospel of Jesus Christ is brought to this beautiful nation,” he said.
Then, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Elder Rasband called it a “monumental day” after he met with the president of the country, Taye Atske Selassie, on Oct. 30.
“We talked about the needs of the country and how our Church can help long into the future, as we have done long into the past,” Elder Rasband said.
They discussed many topics, including religious liberty and the education of children and youth.
That day, he also met Abune Mathias, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which has millions of members around the world.
Last June, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided one of its church buildings to their congregation in Utah.
“We discussed our ongoing partnership and shared goal to bring souls closer to Jesus Christ. It brings me great joy to share the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with leaders like these all over the world,” Elder Rasband said.
