Faith Carved Deep in the Pacific Island Country of Palau

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By Eastin Hartzell, Church News

On the lush tropical island country of Palau, where carved storyboards are cherished heirlooms passed down through generations, a sacred story unfolded not on wood but through the quiet redemption of a man’s life coming full circle.

Found in the western Pacific Ocean, the country of Palau consists of over 300 coral and volcanic islands and nearly 22,000 people. Palau has one branch, the Koror Branch, and 421 Latter-day Saints.

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in 2025, in the island state Ngaraard, Palau, when a reunion took place that neither party had expected but both had unknowingly awaited for decades.

Tobias Kuchad, known as Toby, now 70 years old, welcomed two senior missionaries into his home — Elder Scott Lieber and Sister Kristin Lieber — unaware that they held pieces of his past in their hearts and home.

Elder and Sister Lieber began their mission in the Micronesia Guam Mission in January. Elder Lieber served in the same mission nearly 40 years ago, and as an early missionary in Palau, he wrote a Palaun language and culture introduction to help missionaries.

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Kuchad began carving storyboards while incarcerated as a young man. During those dark years, two young Latter-day Saint missionaries had come to visit the prison regularly, reported the Church’s Guam/Micronesia Newsroom.

He couldn’t remember their names, but he never forgot the feeling of those visits or the first time he read from the Book of Mormon. It brought him light. It brought him Christ.

Years later, that same spirit prompted his baptism. He transformed not only as a man but as an artist. His work evolved from telling Palauan legends to depicting scenes from scripture, echoing the truth that had once been revealed to him in a jail cell.

As Elder Lieber listened to Kuchad’s story, memories stirred. He had served as a young missionary in Palau in 1983–84. And his companion at the time, Elder Kale Au, had once introduced him to a young man — an inmate, a carver. Could this be him?

Curious and hopeful, the Liebers reached out to their daughter in Utah and asked her to examine the back of the carved storyboards Elder Lieber had taken home from his mission decades earlier.

The reply came with a photo. Carved into the back were the words: “Toby K.”

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Tears flowed quickly after that realization.

The following Sunday, the Liebers returned to Kuchad’s home — not just with memories but with a photo of Elder Lieber and Elder Au in their missionary days.

They also brought another of Kuchad’s carvings from the 1980s. When Kuchad saw them, recognition bloomed. His face lit up, a smile unfolding as buried memories came back to life.

In preparation for the sacrament, they sang the Primary song, “Teach Me to Walk in the Light.”

At first hesitant, Kuchad joined in clearly by the second verse. Sister Lieber later said it was “one of the purest hymns I’ve ever experienced.”

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Then, as if completing a loop only heaven could orchestrate, Elder Lieber laid his hands on Kuchad’s head and gave him a priesthood blessing — one that declared his talent as a tool for missionary work.

The blessing pronounced that he would “share the gospel of Christ through the talent in his hands.”

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Kuchad felt peace, sharing, “This gift today shows me God is aware, and this is the true way.”

He added three words that seemed to sum up his entire life story: “Redemption is real.”

What began in a jail cell with a few verses from the Book of Mormon has become a legacy of faith.

Through the years, Kuchad’s hands have created images of Christ, miracles and parables. His carvings tell stories. But more than that, it bears his witness of Jesus Christ.

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