Through Faith, a Woman from Kosrae is Healed

Two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often walked by Sepe Mike’s house in Kosrae.  Sepe lived on the small island of Kosrae which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. These missionaries would stop by and always invite her and her family to church.  Eventually, they accepted their invitation and went to church with them.  At church they talked about Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon along with other things that she felt like they needed to know.  The missionaries began coming to their house regularly to teach them more about the gospel.  Sepe tried to always “catch” some of the wisdom and knowledge of God that they were teaching.  When the missionaries taught her about baptism and how Jesus was baptized, it touched her heart.  She really liked the thought that she could be baptized like Jesus.  She and her husband were baptized along with their four children.  Some of her grandchildren are also members of the Church now. 

For many years her father was a lay minister of a protestant church on Kosrae.  Most of their family and friends attended this church.  When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was looking for a place to build a church, her father allowed them to build a church on his land.  His congregation discovered what he had done and released him as their minister.  This made him so sad.  It was something that he never thought they’d do to him.  That same year, he passed away.  Before he died, he told his family that he didn’t want any of them invited to his funeral.  The funerals on the islands can last several days.  The family honored his wishes until a cousin got into a fight with someone because they wanted to come to the funeral.  Many people from his congregation wanted to come and were saddened to find out that they were not welcome.  After a long discussion with her family, which included her brother, they decided to let everyone come.  Sepe said that she thinks this is why none of her extended family or friends opposed her joining the Church.  They remembered what happened about twenty years before with her father and they didn’t want those kinds of feelings to come between them again.  On the outer islands, family members are buried on the family land by their homes.  There are no public cemetery grounds.  Her father was buried next to where the Church now sits.  It truly is sacred ground to Sepe and her family. 

Sepe has witnessed the miracles in her life since joining the Church.  About a year after she was baptized, her sister passed away.  At that time, she was having trouble with her leg and couldn’t walk.  She really wanted to attend her sister’s funeral but didn’t think she could because of her leg.  The Elder’s came by and gave her a blessing.  Shortly after the blessing, she was able to walk and go to her sister’s funeral. 

She has gained a testimony of prayer.  She and her family were blessed to receive one of the greenhouses from Lelu Farmers, which the Church’s humanitarian department has partnered with for several years.  She’s so excited to have a garden to provide good food for her family.  A few months ago, she was in her kitchen boiling some water when the pot tipped over, spilling the very hot liquid onto her leg.  The scalding water caused third degree burns up and down her leg causing her extreme pain.  The wounds were so bad and painful that she was unable to walk.  Her sister offered to take her to the hospital, but she refused to go. Instead, she asked for the Elder’s to come over and give her a blessing once more.  Because of her great faith, two months later her leg was healed.    She is diabetic so this was a real miracle to her.  Before she was healed, she worried about the small seedlings in her garden that needed watering.  She was unable to do it.  Once her leg was healed, she went to check on them and found that they had grown and seemed to be healthy plants. She has already harvested from her garden several times.  Around this same time, her husband had a stroke and was also unable to walk. He could barely move his arms.  The missionaries also gave him a blessing.   He is still recovering but was able to receive the Priesthood and ordain his son and grandson to the Aaronic Priesthood. 

Sepe is very grateful to God for his servants and his people.  They have been so good to her and her family.  She shares the gospel with her friends.  She also tries to teach her children and grandchildren how to serve. Her grandson is now passing the sacrament and it fills her heart with joy.  She said: “I told the Elder’s that I really want my kids and grandkids to be like them.  I know that this Church is true.”  When the Church was being remodeled and during COVID, the members of the Utwe Branch came to her home which is next to the church.  She really enjoyed that time because it made her home feel like a sacred place.  The Lord has truly been good to her.