Just a little history to put the whole story of the little boy with the cleft palate together:
Brother Salabogi (The g is pronounced n.) is a past branch president. He has a big heart and a great love of the gospel. He is always reaching out to help his family and others. Even though his children are grown, some are still living with him, 11 total, including this little boy. When we first met them, the little 1 ½ year old boy was sitting on his Grandpa’s lap. It looked like his favorite spot, and it reminded me of all the years I sat on my Father’s lap. We could tell there was a strong bond between them. Brother Salabogi told us his grandson was hurt. He had a cleft palate, and surgery is not performed anywhere in Fiji. They would have to take him to Australia or New Zealand at enormous expense, far beyond their means. It was impossible. He said the poor little boy would have to live like this throughout his life. They would not send him to school because he couldn’t talk.  

During the Senior Missionary Retreat in Suva, we were told the US navy ship Mercy would be coming to Fiji. The first thing we thought of was the little Salabogi grandson, now almost two. We checked out the red tape and relayed details to the grandfather. We didn’t know if surgery on a cleft palate could even be performed on the ship, but we wanted them to try just in case. For over a month, we kept reminding them that they needed a letter of recommendation from the doctor for him to be treated on the Mercy. They kept saying they would, but they didn’t. We reminded them again and again and again and again. This is something we couldn’t drop the ball on. We had to make sure they did it. Finally, a week before the ship arrived, the mother took her son in and got the letter of recommendation. When we asked what to do next, Sister Roth told us to go to the hospital and make sure he was on the list for the screening. We went and not only found he was on the list, but the kind nurse instructed us on the time, place, and everything they needed to bring to the screening to see if he was eligible for surgery.  We passed on the information and reminded them a couple more times. Sunday, the grandfather told us they were on the ship. We were so excited! It was going to happen!

During the tour of the ship, the doctor over the surgeries confirmed that all the cleft palates were successful except the one little girl. Two days after our tour, Brother and Sister Roth went with us to visit the Salabogi family to get the whole success story and celebration pictures for a church newspaper article.  

The interview went something like this:

“How is your little son doing?”

“Fine.”

“So the surgery went well?”

“No.”

“The surgery didn’t go well?”

“No, they just pulled out all his teeth.”

“We know they pulled out all the teeth of the little girl, but his surgery went okay, didn’t it?”

“No, they just pulled out all his teeth.”

“And they didn’t do the surgery?” 

“No.”

This hit Rex and me like a ton of bricks! He was the one who hadn't gotten the surgery! The head of surgeries on the ship had thought this two-year-old with black curly hair was a little girl. I was sick! We had put this family through all this for nothing! I was ready to cry.

Sister Roth just kept asking questions.

“Can you go to Suva to get the surgery?”

“No.”

“Suva doesn’t do the surgery?”

“No. Nowhere in Fiji.”

I already knew all this. I was dying. We had thought this little boy was the reason we had been called to Fiji. This was our mission. We thought we had made a difference. Now it was all for nothing. I just sat stunned.

Sister Roth continued asking, “What will you do now?”

“We go back to the ship for surgery.”

“The ship is gone. It hasn’t been here for nine years. We don’t know when it’s coming back.”

I was done. My eyes were full of tears, and my heart was broken. I just wanted to go home, curl up in my bed, and cry.

The mother repeated, “We go to the ship for surgery.”

“But how? I don’t understand.”

“In March, they fly us to America and do surgery on the ship.”

Wait! About face. This was too good to be true! She told us they would stay for three weeks. (Rex thinks the USNS Mercy docks in San Diego, California. He told her to take in Sea World while they are there.) The doctors will not only fix the cleft palate, but they will also put in temporary teeth to replace the ones they pulled and put a chip in his ear so he can hear. Evidently he is partially or totally deaf, too. What a miracle! All of this could not possibly have been done in the short time on the ship in Savusavu. 
Yes, we are cheering and celebrating again. Now we just have to start working to help them get passports, continue praying for them, and wait until next March to find out if all of this will really happen. Our prayers are being answered, but on the Lord’s timetable, not ours. What a blessing! What a miracle! The Lord is at the helm.

Sister Roth just kept asking questions until she got the whole story.