One Word Sermon

Last Updated on December 25, 2017 12:09 pm by Steven

Written by Tami Creamer, as told by LaMar Creamer

In our lives there are many opportunities to hear sermons preached, but what can sometimes have the greatest impact on us are the simple, mighty testimonies of example and faith.  This is the story of the one word sermon that was preached to me, from a young boy living on an island atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Downtown Lae

In 2005, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the small Pacific Island of Lae to help secure a piece of land to lease and build a small LDS church on.  Lae is an atoll, west of the islands of Majure and Kwajalein, which are part of the Marshall Islands.  The population on Lae is about 250 people.  The only way to get there is by a chartered plane that holds 16 passengers, with a grass strip as the runway.   A group of church leaders from the neighboring islands of Kwajalein and Ebeye came with us to hold a Branch Conference, and they brought bins full of sandwiches, treats, candy, and other fun stuff.

Old LDS Church

The Branch Conference was held outside, because they couldn’t fit everyone in the building.  After the Conference was over, I found myself sitting next to a handsome young man who was probably around 12 to 13 years of age.  At first, it was awkward because we didn’t speak the same language.  He was holding a Hymn Book and I pointed to it and said “Hymn Book”.  He tried to give it to me, I declined, and then pointed to it again, I said “Hymn Book”.  When he realized what I was saying, he finally replied back, in very broken English, “Hymn Book”.  I knew we had broken the ice.  Patting myself on the chest, I identified myself as Brother Creamer.  I then gestured towards

Setup for Conference

him to which he replied, “Actson”.  We were going somewhere with this now!  Using some hand gestures I asked him if he ate fish.  He smiled and nodded his head.  Then I asked him if he ate crab.  He got up and ran over to bring a coconut crab to me.  I smiled and politely declined to hold it.  Having exhausted

Steven on Lae Teaching how to use Satellite Phone

our limited communication, we sat there for a bit in awkward silence.  All of a sudden, he looked at me, sat up tall, patted his chest, and held out his arm as if he were passing the Sacrament, and said, “Deacon”!  When he realized that he could communicate with me, instead of asking for candy or treats, the first things that he wanted me to know was that he was a Deacon, he passed the sacrament, and was honored to do so.  I was profoundly touched by this simple gesture and the power of his one word sermon.  This bore witness to me, that one day, he would be a great Priesthood leader and servant among his people.

Towards the end of 2006, I found out that I would be able to take one last trip to the island.  The Marshall Islands had just split off from the Micronesia Guam Mission to be reassigned to the newly created Majuro Marshall Islands Mission.  The new Mission President had invited me to come with him on his first trip there, and had also invited my wife and our 16-year-old son to join me.  For Christmas that year, all of our families had decided that they would donate money to help us buy picture books and beginner reading books to give to the people on the island.  Early in 2007, we were on our way to Lae.  I had saved an extra special book for Actson, a Nursery Rhyme book!  He loved it.  My wife and son connected with him well, and it was wonderful to see that he was still faithful in the Church.  As we were leaving, my wife turned to me

Sister Pulsipher reading to kids on Lae around February 2006

and said, “One day, he will be the first missionary from this island.”  For many teenagers on the islands, it can [be] very hard to remain faithful and active in the Church.  But we had a feeling that this young man’s testimony, which was spoken with such powerful simplicity in his one word sermon, would carry him through the trails and tribulations of tiny island living.  Because this mission has split, the Micronesia Guam Mission no longer had stewardship over the Marshall Islands or Lae, and we soon lost contact with Actson.  For medical reasons, we had to move back home to the states at the end of 2008, and never thought we would see him again.

Missionaries being transferred into their new apartment on Lae – about Feb 2006

In 2014, we had the opportunity to fly back to the island of Kosrae for a vacation.  In order to get to Kosrae, we had to take what is called the “Island Hopper”, and stop at several islands to get there.  My wife was flying gon a standby ticket and so she had to deplane at every airport we stopped at, while I was able to remain on the airplane.  The first stop was on the island of Majure.  She went into the holding area where passengers were waiting to board the plane and ran into [two] missionaries.  Naturally, she went over and talked to them.  They both were the Assistants to the President and were on their way to meet with some missionaries on the island of Ebeye.  My wife asked them if either of them had been to the island of Lae.  One Elder looked at her and said, “You know where Lae is?”  He had served on Lae for [three] months.  When she told him that we had been there, he couldn’t believe it!  She asked him if he, by chance, knew of a kid named Actson, who would be about 21 or 22.  He responded with, “Actson Langbata?”  She didn’t know his last name, but knew that there were probably weren’t many kids named Actson that were about that age on the island!  Then he completely surprised her when he said, “Yes I know him.  He just returned from serving an incredibly successful mission in the Utah Salt Lake City South mission.”  He told her that Actson had just gotten married and was currently living on the island of Ebeye.  How exciting that was to hear!  After my wife and the missionaries boarded the plane, I was about to meet them and talk to them.  I gave them my information.  I asked them to pass it along to Actson if they saw him and they assured me that they would.

Saying Goodbye

One week later, Actson contacted me on Facebook and was so excited to be able to reconnect.  Yes, it was him!  He, indeed, was the first missionary to serve from Lae and had served very faithfully.  He was also now married to a beautiful woman from Ebeye.  We recently discovered that while he was growing up, he was the only member of the Church in his family.  Because of his example, his parents joined the church and have been to the Temple.  In October of 2017, we were about to reconnect with him and his family.  He is attending BYU-Hawaii, has been sealed in the Temple, and has [two] beautiful little boys.  He also let me know that he still has his treasured book!  What a blessing to see what happens when kids have such strong testimonies and remain faithful in the Church.  His one word sermon, “Deacon”, says it all.

My Thoughts

This story has special meaning to me as I was with LaMar on that first trip to Lae.  I remember LaMar telling me about Actson and his interaction with him.

Main Street Lae

Charter Flight to Lae – LaMar’s forehead is in the lower left corner

Charter flight to Lae – Bill Davis and Steven Loosle in Jumpseat. The armrest is the life raft for the flight!