Tributes shared across two countries are honoring Elder Peiholani Kaumāvae Vave, a young Tongan who died while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Africa. In the weeks following his death, people who knew him in Ghana and Tonga have remembered his kindness, faith, and devotion to the Lord.
Their messages also reveal the wide circle of people affected by his passing, from family and childhood friends to members of The Church of Jesus Christ he met abroad. Together, their memories offer a portrait of the life Elder Vave lived before and during his service.
From Tonga to Ghana
Elder Vave came from the ʻUtulau Ward of the Haʻakame Tonga Stake. Before leaving Tonga, he studied carpentry through vocational education and developed a love for fishing and volleyball.
In comments on a social media post, one friend recalled watching volleyball with Elder Vave during a visit to Vaini, while another described him as both a childhood friend and a best friend. His family later said his greatest accomplishment was choosing to become an instrument in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Elder Vave was assigned to the Ghana Accra West Mission under President Campbell. His service took him into communities where local Church members came to know his cheerful personality and Christlike character.
Members from areas where he served described the influence he left behind in their comments on the Tonga Nuku’alofa Mission’s memorial post. One called him “a beautiful soul,” while another remembered him as “such a great blessing” to her branch.
His Final Days
Though his cause of death has not been reported, a social media post shared in July indicates Elder Vave received care in a hospital shortly before his passing. Images accompanying the post show another missionary, identified as Elder Hausia, offering comfort and remaining close to him during what appears to have been his final illness.
One commenter who appeared to be a member of Elder Vave’s family later thanked Elder Hausia for staying beside him and supporting him. Others who saw the images were moved by the friendship between the two young men and the brotherhood they shared through the Lord’s work.
Elder Vave died in Ghana on July 24, 2026. One mother wrote that she had never met Elder Vave but wept as she thought about his family. With her own son serving in Ghana, she understood something of the distance and uncertainty his loved ones had faced.
Remembered in Ghana
On August 5, President and Sister Campbell gathered with missionaries who had known Elder Vave for a memorial service. Robyn Campbell described the gathering as “emotional but uplifting and healing for us and the missionaries.”
Those in attendance shared favorite memories and spoke about Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. Their faith offered comfort as they mourned the young missionary who had served alongside them.
“I like to imagine that Elder Vave never removed his missionary tag,” Campbell wrote. “He just received a heavenly reassignment.”
Bishop Feletiliki Faʻaoso, who identified himself as Elder Vave’s bishop, thanked President Campbell and the missionaries for honoring him. He said Elder Vave’s family felt God’s love and found peace in the plan of salvation.
Before Elder Vave’s remains left Ghana, the Tongan elders offered another farewell through music. They sang the hymn “Jesus Is the Way,” which had become a familiar and beloved part of their gatherings together, including those Elder Vave had attended.
The Journey Back to Tonga
Elder Vave’s remains arrived in Tonga on September 1, nearly six weeks after his death. The reason for the wait has not been publicly shared.
Elder Siale ʻEliesa of the Area Seventy joined President and Sister Langi in leading the Tonga Nukuʻalofa Mission as they received him. Missionaries then accompanied Elder Vave’s remains from the airport to his home.
Lionel Funaki encountered the procession while returning from work and reflected on the painful contrast between that moment and a typical missionary homecoming. Most returning missionaries step from the airport into the arms of waiting relatives before being released from their calling, but Elder Vave’s return carried a different meaning.
Funaki wrote that Elder Vave would retain both his title and missionary badge because his service now continued beyond mortality. His reflection captured the faith with which many mourners approached an arrival none of them had expected.
The Tonga Nukuʻalofa Mission summarized the emotion of the moment in a few simple words. “Today, he is finally home in Tonga.”
Honored at His Funeral
Elder Vave’s funeral was held September 2, with Elder ʻEliesa and President and Sister Langi among those in attendance. His older brother read a brief biography recounting his education, favorite activities, and decision to serve Jesus Christ.
At President Campbell’s request, those gathered sang the same hymn the Tongan elders had used to bid Elder Vave farewell in Ghana. The music connected the people who had served beside him with the family and community honoring him at home.
During his remarks, President Langi quoted a question from President Russell M. Nelson: “To whom or to what will I give my life?” He said Elder Vave had chosen to give his life to the Lord and His work.
United in Remembrance
Those who knew Elder Vave have not allowed the distance between Ghana and Tonga to divide the two parts of his story. Their shared mourning has instead drawn his homeland and the people he served into one community of remembrance.
The Church’s memorial announcement in Tonga closed with the Savior’s words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Those words offered a fitting farewell to a life devoted to serving the Lord.
Share your prayers and support for the Vave family in the comments below.
Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.
For the past 12 years I have painted portraits of LDS Missionaries who have died while serving. These life-size portraits are framed and presented to their family free of charge.
My work has been featured in LDS Living, on KSL TV, KUTV, FOX News TV, etc.
Would someone be able to contact the family and let them know of this service?
I would appreciate that.
You’re amazing JR, we grateful for the portrait you did for my parents and it hangs in their living room.
Our Elder Richardson died in 1998 in Mexico City East. We fund comfort in D&C 138, that he will not be released, he just been transferred and continues the Lord’s with on the other side.
Please find out how he died and why his remains were delayed for six weeks.
There is more to this story.
Bob Layton
I suspect a contagious pathogen. The delay I suspect was to verify it was no longer active??