True story of Elder Kafoa

For a change up, I thought I'd share this story written by a member in Brisbane Australia about a tough experience of 2 missionaries in Papua New Guinea that happened a couple of weekends ago.  We were all concerned but it looks like he'll be ok.  My usual mission update is found after this:

Meet Elder Kafoa, A stranger to us until today who grew up in Tonga and is currently serving an LDS mission in PNG.

He is in Brisbane recovering from a home invasion while on the mission. He described it like a movie it was crazy.

4 dudes kidnapped him and his Samoan companion in their own vehicle. beat them up and had their lives threatened with rifles, shotguns and machetes.

They were driven to a spot to be ridden of.

He was asked 3 different times “do you have any last words”. Elder Kafoa would buy himself more time by saying he needs to disable the gps so the police couldn’t track the vehicle.

That saved his life. While making a run for his life, one of the guys attempted to slice him from the top off his head with a machete but Elder Kafoa blocked it with his left arm and fought back which left him with damaged nerves in his arm. Also had his knee sliced up and was wheel chair bound for the first couple of days. But he managed to get away and hid in the bush for 5 hrs until help arrived.

His companion was chucked off a cliff but survived. And walked 2 hrs to a police station where they came back looking for Elder Kafoa.

We couldn’t heal the brothers wounds or take away his trauma. We could do one thing and that’s heal his hunger with a KFC bucket 😂

As a family we visited with him and let him know we love him and thank him for his example, courage and service to the PNG people.

Once recovered he will return to PNG to serve his remaining 8 months on the mission.

I asked the bro, when you go back are you going to round up some boys and go find these guys, he replied “nah we will find them and hopefully baptise them”.

Elder Kafoa, a modern day hero. I said to him you could make a movie with his experience.

Other side of Hell. 😂😂

But he’s determined to go back and finish his mission. Salute to you Elder Kafoa. Ofa Atu

Hope my sons can have the same courage as this Elder when, and if they choose to serve.