PAPEETE, Tahiti — My wife, Lori, some friends and I recently made a trip to Papeete, Tahiti, to participate in the rededication of the Papeete Tahiti Temple. The night before the rededication, the saints in Tahiti had prepared a member meeting at which Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke, along with a celebration of native dances, at the local soccer stadium.
That evening, while waiting for the program to begin, I saw Terei Tokoragi in front of us on the track which went around the soccer field. I jumped down the stairs to say hi to him. I hadn't seen him for 26 years, since I had returned home from my mission to Tahiti. I shook his hand and introduced myself to him. At first he didn't remember but then, as he thought about it, the memories started coming back to him.
Terei was the ward mission leader in the ward where I had served for a year. We had worked with several other ward missionaries and taught many, many lessons together. My companion, Elder Christian Wilson, and I had even been able to teach a young man named Marcell Ruahe, whom we knew as Frere Drollet, the gospel and he would become the son-in-law to Terei.
Marcell accepted the gospel, married Terei's daughter, Kumea, and was baptized while we served there in the Papeete 2nd Ward on Sept. 8, 1979.
Terei called Marcell later that evening when he remembered this but Marcell was not able to find me before we left the celebration. I had told Terei that we were staying at the Sofitel Hotel in Faaa, Tahiti, so Marcell tried calling the Sofitel to talk with me. Unfortunately, the Sofitel had my name listed as John Smith so he couldn't connect with me there.
Luckily, I ran into Terei at the temple again on Tuesday morning. We arranged to meet with Marcell on Wednesday evening when he would be coming to the temple from Taravao, on the other side of the island. Once again, things didn't work out. It took longer than he expected and my wife and I had to leave the hotel to pick up our friends at the dock so we missed him again by five minutes! As he talked with the lady at the front desk, he showed her a picture that had been taken the day of his baptism. She told him that she was LDS, also, and when he asked her if it was me in the picture, she told him yes. I was a little younger in the picture — 27 years younger, more hair that was less gray — but there was still a resemblance.
When we were at Terei's on Thursday, we made arrangements to go to the other side of the island to visit Marcell at his home in Taravao on Saturday.
It was the Saturday we were to leave Tahiti. Lori and I went with Terei, his wife and granddaughter to Taravao where Marcell and his family lived. When we arrived, he was waiting with his entire family. It was a grateful reunion. On his part, he was so grateful to report the success of his life. He had done very well with his life and kept the covenants that he had made. For me, I was so grateful to see that the work I had done was in some way successful.
Marcell invited everyone to sit down and he reminded me of the story of what had happened when he was being taught.
In order for him to be baptized, he had to learn about the Word of Wisdom, stop drinking and stop smoking. He had done that. However his mother wasn't very happy with his baptism. In fact, she had called the stake president, President Victor Cave, and expressed her dismay over her son's baptism. She told him she wanted his name taken off the records of the Church. However, President Cave responded that Marcell was older than 18 so he could make his own choices. A while later, after Marcell had made the changes in his life, and really did stop drinking and smoking, his mother called President Cave again to repent. She told him how grateful she was that her son had truly changed and had become a new man.
Marcell told us that he and his wife, Kumea, were married and he was baptized on Sept. 8, 1979. They have six children, three girls and three boys: Tamatea, Tumoana, Gustave, Timeri, Tepurotu and Taiau.
Marcell told us how, even after many years of being in the Church, he thought about his baptism every year when his anniversary came around. He said he wished he could contact Elder Smith and Elder Wilson who had taught him the gospel. However, shortly after I returned home to California in 1980, I moved to Utah to continue my schooling. He had asked other elders from California if they knew me. Their responses were always that there were a lot of Smiths in California and there was really no chance for him to find the right David Smith there.
Marcell said he wanted to tell me about the service that he was providing in the Church. He and his wife had moved to an atoll in the Pacific called Hou. He was called to be the branch president where he served with three different mission presidents. During the time when he was at Hou, no missionaries were allowed to go there so he asked to do missionary work. As a result, six people joined the Church and they went from a branch where almost no one attended to a consistent group of 35.
Since his return to Tahiti from Hou, Marcell has been called to serve in three different bishoprics. He has also served as president of the stake Sunday School, as stake Young Men president, and as a high councilor. He is presently serving as group leader for his high priests group.
He reminded us of Doctrine and Covenants 18:15: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" Marcell wanted me to know that he was one person who had joined the Church during my term of service and because of that, my mission had been successful. I was so grateful for his efforts in finding me this trip, and we will ever be brothers in the kingdom of the Lord. — David W. Smith of the Willow Creek 6th Ward, Sandy Utah Willow Creek Stake, serves as ward executive secretary.