The Mission He Didn’t Expect

In October 2025, Elder Hinckley Tanumafili I’aulualo travelled from Samoa to the Auckland Missionary Training Centre (MTC) to prepare for serving in the New Zealand Wellington Mission. When he sprained his ankle during sports, however, a blood test revealed he has type 2 diabetes, which hadn’t shown up in any pre-mission medical exams.

His doctor strongly recommended he remain in town for health monitoring, so Elder I’aulualo’s assignment changed. Instead of proselyting in Wellington, he would now stay in Auckland and become a service missionary.

Hinckley was not new to New Zealand. He was born there and raised by his mother’s parents in West Auckland. It was only in 2016, after both grandparents had passed, that he moved to live with his parents in Savaii, Samoa.

His dad was the bishop of their ward at that time and constantly encouraged the youth to serve missions. “Only one of [our ward’s] youth went on a mission,” Elder I’aulualo recalls. “I was focussing on school too much then.” When he won a scholarship to the University of Samoa, his father suggested he serve a mission first. But Elder I’aulualo said, “I told him that the mission can wait because I need to do my education first.”

Hinckley gained a diploma in computer science and built a successful IT career, earning progressively higher income with each new job. But then he learned that his father had been called as a stake president, and something shifted. “I felt so bad for not doing what he wanted,” he says. “So I resigned from my work and put my papers in for a mission.”

Just before he left for New Zealand, Hinckley learned that his dad—who has eight siblings—had been the only person in his generation to ever serve a mission. Hinckley would now be the only one of his own seven siblings to serve and only the second in their family history.

Elder I’aulualo fully expected that after his training, he’d be off to Wellington. While the thought of knocking on doors made him nervous, practicing at the MTC was building his confidence. “I was getting there. . . . I was on track . . . but I feel like you have to actually do it, right? To get [confident].” He was keen to get started.

But then he sprained his ankle, and his mission assignment changed. He was now on a service mission—which he knew very little about—and had joined a team of only 12 other service missionaries in all of Auckland.

While most service missionaries remain in their own homes, Elder I’aulualo’s situation required him to move to his uncle’s house in Auckland, where he receives help to attend medical and fitness appointments. Instead of working with a companion, he serves on his own, using his IT skills to update a database of community organisations that might need the Church’s assistance.

The other service missionaries fulfil a variety of needs, such as folding clothes for the Salvation Army, building furniture for families, or even providing sound engineering for a local school event. Like all missionaries, service missionaries still wear their badges, follow missionary guidelines, and look for opportunities to share their testimonies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

At first, Elder I’aulualo struggled. He’d set his heart on Wellington. He’d trained for a companion, for doors, for discussions. “I wanted to be a teaching missionary,” he admits.

Through prayer and pondering, he is beginning to understand why Heavenly Father redirected him. Living with his uncle has deepened family bonds. His health is steadily improving—and with it, the possibility he could eventually serve in Wellington. And he has quietly enjoyed using his computer science skills in the service of the Lord.

Elder I’aulualo often thinks about a Bible scripture from Revelation: “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8). For him, this verse has become an anchor. God opens the right door at the right time—even when it isn’t the door we expected.

His advice for anyone preparing to serve: don’t be bound by your expectations. “Be open to something better than what you anticipate.” He realized that the mission he didn’t expect may be exactly the one he needed.