Personal testimony recounts a difficult pregnancy in 1995 and the faith that continues to shape a growing family three decades later.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, September 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Leilani Losehina Tukuafu is sharing her family’s story through “A Legacy of Faith,” a personal testimony reflecting on her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis during pregnancy, the uncertainty surrounding her own birth, and the religious convictions that sustained her parents.
The account looks back to 1995, when Tukuafu’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while three months pregnant. According to the family’s recollection, doctors recommended ending the pregnancy and undergoing breast surgery, warning that delaying treatment could endanger both mother and baby.
Already raising two young children, her parents were given a week to consider their decision. Tukuafu describes a period of prayer, fasting and difficult conversations as they weighed the medical advice alongside their deeply held beliefs.
They ultimately chose to continue the pregnancy. In her testimony, Tukuafu acknowledges the fear, sleepless nights and physical pain that accompanied that decision.
During the pregnancy, her mother travelled from New Zealand to the United States to visit family, first in Sacramento, California, and then in Salt Lake City, Utah. While staying in Utah, she felt strongly prompted to visit the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Accompanied by her young son, she asked to meet the temple president, George I. Cannon, and receive a blessing. Tukuafu recounts that her mother explained her diagnosis and the uncertainty she was facing.
According to the testimony, President Cannon offered a blessing that spoke of reassurance, family and the possibility of more children. Her mother immediately called her husband in Auckland to share what had happened.
“As long as we stay close to our Heavenly Father, we’ll be okay,” her father told her, as recalled in Tukuafu’s account.
After returning to New Zealand, her mother continued to experience significant pain as her December due date approached. On December 25, 1995, she visited the hospital but was told it was not yet time to deliver.
The following day, December 26, Leilani Losehina Tukuafu was born at the family home in Māngere, Auckland. Her father called an ambulance, and mother and baby were taken to hospital. They returned home a few days later.
Tukuafu says subsequent medical examinations found no detectable cancer in her mother, although doctors cautioned that it could return. She regards the events surrounding her birth as a deeply personal experience of faith and gratitude.
Three decades later, her parents have eight children, five daughters and three sons, including the five children born after Leilani. The family now also includes six grandchildren.
“We are so grateful to our Father in Heaven for his continued blessings,” Tukuafu writes.
Through “A Legacy of Faith,” she reflects on how her parents’ experience shaped her own belief in God and Jesus Christ. Her testimony acknowledges the difficulty of life’s trials while expressing the strength she finds in prayer, family and her relationship with her Saviour.
She closes with a message to others facing uncertainty: “You are not alone!”
Media Relations
Leilani Tufuafu
email us here
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
