THURSDAY ISLAND, Australia — The Thursday Island Branch in the north Australian Torres Strait group of islands recently celebrated the first missionary call in the branch's four-decade history.
Sister Kali Bani was called to serve in the Australia Melbourne Mission, becoming the first missionary to be called from the region since the Church was established on the remote island in the early 1960s.
This first missionary call was closely followed by an additional two calls in the following months. Sister Serdonia Akee is serving in the Australia Adelaide Mission and Elder Geoff Lui, a recent convert from the island, is serving in the Australia Perth Mission.
The triple missionary callings were such an event on the small island that branch President Miroslav Ziegelbauer organized a public send-off event and invited the whole island to attend. The historic missionary callings were also reported in the local island newspaper.