Lagi Setu was envied as a footballer making a living playing the most gladiatorial of games in front of large crowds wrote Chris Barrett on the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald sports section on 30 July.
Inside the paper, a two-page spread, complete with photos of Elder Setu in white shirt and tie, gave an up-close view of the man on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mr. Barrett received permission from the Church and from Elder Setu's mission president in Burmingham, England, to interview the Australian Rugby League star, who has been "cut off from the news about the game"but who "wouldn't change a thing."
Finding the missionary a "significantly more confident character than when he left the NRL," Barrett writes that Elder Setu has "knocked on thousands of doors...burst right out of his comfort zone...been attacked by a dog...and accepted the strict policy of minimal contact with home insisted upon by the Mormon Church" for missionaries.
The journalist found that "the missionary's life is a quieter one but no less hard a slog."
He quotes Elder Setu: "You do get days where it's just tough...but I'm on this bike like there's no tomorrow...every day, up hills, it's crazy!"
"The article can be viewed as one of the best descriptions of missionaries — who they are and what they leave behind in the wake of missionary service," said Alan Wakeley, Director of Public Affairs for the Southwest Pacific.
View the full article here.