Islands across Micronesia like Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap are known for their traditional arts. On Palau, carved storyboards are celebrated for their beauty and craftsmanship. In 2025, on one quiet Sunday afternoon in the state of Ngaraard, a remarkable reunion unfolded between a master carver and missionaries who had unknowingly shaped his life decades earlier.

Tobias Kuchad, now 70, began carving storyboards while incarcerated as a young man in Palau. During those early days, he met young Latter-Day Saint missionaries who visited several times a week to share faith, stories, and friendship. Though Toby no longer remembers their names, he vividly recalls how reading from the Book of Mormon sparked hope and strengthened his belief in Jesus Christ. Years later, he chose to be baptized and began carving not just Palauan legends, but scenes from scripture as well—sharing his gift with people all over the world.
Senior missionaries Elder Scott and Sister Kristin Lieber, serving in Palau, recently visited Toby to hear his story of faith. As Toby spoke, Elder Lieber, who had served on Palau in 1983–84, experienced a flood of memory. He realized that his former missionary companion, Elder Kale Au, had once introduced him to a young carver during a jail visit. The name Toby surfaced, and with it, the sense that they were now speaking to that same man.
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Wanting confirmation, the Liebers reached out to their daughter in Utah to check the back of the Palauan storyboards Elder Lieber had brought home decades earlier. When the reply came with a photo showing the carved name “Tobias K.” on the back, many tears flowed.

The next Sunday, the Liebers returned with a photo of young Elder Au and Elder Lieber—those same missionaries who had once ministered to Toby in jail. They also brought an image of Toby’s carvings from the 1980s. As Toby looked at the photos, recognition slowly lit up his face, followed by a radiant smile as long-buried memories resurfaced.
Preparing for the sacrament, Toby joined the Liebers in singing the Latter-Day Saint Primary song, Teach Me to Walk in the Light. Though unfamiliar at first, by the second verse Toby sang along clearly. Sister Lieber described it as “one of the purest hymns I’ve ever experienced.”
Toby stated, “This gift today shows me God is aware, and this is the true way.”
Afterward, Elder Lieber gave Toby a priesthood blessing, declaring that he would “share the gospel of Christ through the talent in his hands.” Toby shared that he felt peace and affirmed that “redemption is real.”
The missionaries were moved by Toby’s faith and his lifelong journey—from a young man seeking purpose to a master artist who now shares the light of Christ through his carvings. Just as Jesus Christ bore healing in His hands, Toby’s hands continue to create art that speaks to hope, transformation, and the quiet power of redemption.