Picking Up Speed in the ABM!

Happy Fall to our family and friends,

We hope your season is blessed with a bountiful harvest, kids happily settled in a new school year, and you all enjoying the mellow days of weather as Mother Earth puts on her fall gown of glowing colors! Nothing is more enjoyable than the change of seasons, and here in the Australia Brisbane Mission, the switch is hardly noticeable.  Spring's sprinting into summer at an alarming rate and we're already "sweatin' a bucketload!" Happily we report that Elder Yates is easing back into missionary work with the Heart Surgeon's approval. At his six-week post-op visit, he got flying marks for the good healing that is taking place.  A tickling side note: When we

Elder Yates enjoying Karawatha Forest Walk  

walked into the Surgeon's office, he gasped, "Wow!  You're a very tall man!"  Immediately, we realized Dr. Wall had NEVER seen Elder Yates in any position other than lying flat on his back! We realize how far he has come when he can go a whole day without a nap, and when his chest isn't the constant center of attention. Healing of the disrupted nerves, arteries and muscles still causes him pain, but it's manageable.  Doctor Wall gave us permission to walk as much as we want to, no restrictions and to sensibly ease back into use of his whole body.  Yay!  He can lift more than 2 kilos now and do a few things he loves to do!  He began Physical Therapy two weeks ago which will help strengthen him in every way to get back on his feet to lead a fully active life again! How we count our blessings for these daily miracles leading toward a total recovery!

Now, don't think he's up to jumping jacks and 50-yard dashes just yet!  We arise early like all good missionaries, attend our meetings and do our duties, but then the reality hits---"I need a little rest!"  Deservedly,  we find time to let him rest when he needs to. Our longest day is Thursday where we now teach two PathwayConnect Classes from BYU-Pathway Worldwide, the newly-named old BYU-Idaho Pathway program which has been moved from Rexburg to Salt Lake City because it's part of an amazing new world-wide

Grabbing a much-needed catnap on the church benches!

program for our ever-increasing world-wide church!  Leaving home  by 9:30 AM, we drive way north of Brisbane to Burpengary Chapel where we have 14 morning students for 2 1/2 hours of Institute and Academic studies classes.  Again at 7 PM we teach our evening class of 24 students.  Tutoring is from 6-7 PM so we really just hang out all day at the chapel until class ends at 9:30 PM. Still,  we have some follow-up duties that take until 10 PM.  Since it's usually a 90 minute drive south to our Kuraby home,  we arrive home LATE!  One perk is that the ONLY COSTCO in Queensland is 10 minutes from the chapel.  We fuel up with our liters of petrol and a few groceries at times!

Our Vivacious Daytime PathwayConnect Students at Burpengary chapel

Our Brave Evening Class--Starting their University Studies at ages 19 to 70!

Not a pushover, butcher bird sings dozens of gorgeous songs. 

Gecko on glass! (Outside our Bathroom)

With spring comes a new flurry of blossoms and opossums!  A huge brush-tailed possum jumped up into the tree as we got into our car late after our above Pathway class.  At our flat, we're now serenaded all day with the noisy miners and butcher birds who are nesting.  We continue to be whacked in the head by them on certain walks if we near their nesting sites.  A first for me, I rounded a corner to meet an angry butcher bird who dive-bombed me twice, delivering a hefty WHAP both times!  How RUDE!  The geckos have returned in full voice claiming their territories and chirping to find a mate.  This one sang from outside our bathroom window.  I hope his dream girl shows up soon, for he and his friends sing a great chorus all around the flat!  The latest spring surprise is the nightly screeching of the fruit bats who are drawn to the nectar of the blooming eucalyptus trees in the forest over our back fence!  These are huge, with a wingspan of about 2 1/2 feet.  Haven't been able to get a picture of one because it's night when they arrive, but we've seen and heard plenty of them.  Credit to google for this good look at one. How fun it is to live at the forest's edge.

 Not to be outdone by the flyers and squeakers that are easily heard and spotted, the lizards of the forest have returned in their camouflaged serene silence. The spiked nearly 4-foot lizard on the left was spotted as he ambled over the bush-land floor and found a lookout on a tree just over our back fence. His rounded belly bespeaks that he fared well through the winter here. The very next day another similar lizard took the same path and climbed the same tree!  However, look at the difference in the two---this unlucky creature must have been the last one in line for every winter morsel!  Poor dear---he looks like a mere scrawny version of his former self when the weather was milder and food was plentiful.

We continue to give service wherever we can, and that includes supporting any ward or stake in any endeavor. Logan Stake in which we reside had their stake conference a couple of weeks ago.  I was asked to play the organ for the Saturday Evening session, and our own Logan ward was to provide the choir for that session as well.  Here, choirs usually have an "outfit" where the women have matching scarves or corsages, and the men matching ties.  It's a powerful bonding tradition of the Pacific Islanders.  The picture shows only four of the women's portion of the choir, for most had already split up after the meeting.  It was a great showing for one of the smallest wards in Brisbane!  We filled the numerous (60+) choir seats to overflowing, and sang with the spirit to match!  Our visiting authority was a newly called Area Seventy, Elder Tufuafu, a warm Tongan man.  He told of Elder Russell M. Nelson's Grandfather sharing a sacred story of when his Father was able to visit him from beyond the veil.  This occurred in 1891, before the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants was received by Pres. Joseph F. Smith and published as part of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1918. To me this astonishing account was so spiritually nourishing that after the meeting I looked the story up for more details. If you'd like a full version, go to  leefamhistory.blogspot.com.au.  The questions and answers are very poignant as some of these truths had not yet been revealed.  Since we have Nielsens in our family line, notice that though Russell M. Nelson's grandfather was Andrew Clarence Nelson, his great grandfather was Mads Peter Nielsen.
How we love interfacing with our missionaries as they ready themselves to return home.  Pictured here are two sister missionaries (beside Sister Yates) who are leaving---one last week, and one next month to return home to Samoa. They happen to live in the same stake back in Samoa! In our goal

Sister Alovao, on my actual right, now has exciting hopes for her spiritual and academic future!

setting class for the two, it was hard to hear that Sr. Alovao's wish was to go back to work in the fish factory where she had worked before her mission. She hadn't graduated from high school, and had no hopes for better employment.  We told her about PathwayConnect and its possibilities for her to show in 3 semesters of Pathway that she can study successfully at university level.  With some emails back and forth to Samoa, we learned a class would be starting in January which she could join.  We urged her to go back and finish high school by getting her GED.  She'll have no trouble after being such a successful missionary! So, now, she has some goals and a plan to get there which promise much more potential for her future.  Bless all the hearts of these brave, dedicated hard-working Elders and Sisters!!

Amazing things come in twosomes this month both at home and around our flat, we have found! Mason Edgel, our oldest grandson, married His sweetheart, Brandi on Sept. 9th. 💕Congratulations to them!!  New baby kookaburra gets taught proper manners by mama, while this wallaby shows off her latest springtime baby. Twin gardenias bloom in the cool of spring in our yard (can't you just smell their sweet fragrance?) while afar our new little twins in Utah are growing fast! 

As the month was one of recuperation, we have simple missionary successes to report. Our duties were put on hold and blessings flowed into Elder Yates' heart and life as we watched his healing take place steadily.  When the surgeon said at our six-week check-up, "You look so good!" I couldn't discern if it was because of his progress physically or the glow that accompanies Elder Yates as we gratefully acknowledge the Lord's hand in allowing this healing time.  Though we might have moved like tortoises physically for a while, spiritually we used the time to learn and grow. We're ready to "work with a will, our duties fulfill!" Thanks again to everyone for your support as we have felt so sustained with your love!  As we look forward to General Conference, we know that Elder Uchtdorf 's promise to us will be fulfilled: "There are messages in each General Conference given as a gift and a blessing from heaven specifically for our personal life situations."  
May each of you be blessed and prospered in your lives and families!  You each are fine examples and dear friends and family members who light our lives with your goodness!  

Love to you and yours, 
Elder and Sister Yates
Dad and Mom
Grandpa and Grandma
David and Marsha
(that about covers it!)