Butterfly Migration is Kookas' Bane

White Caper Butterfly

Hello to all our dearest family and friends,

Greetings from Brisbane to each of you and your loved ones.  We love hearing from you in any form, and appreciate the news from home. We trust this finds you well and enjoying the crisp fall weather over there.  Any big frosts yet? And how is the water situation in Utah as far as drought?  News here for us consists of an occasional look at BBC or KSL on our tablets.

A Crested Pigeon with bright orange Halloween eyes!

Nature story of the fortnight:  About one week ago we started seeing these beautiful fluttering butterflies EVERYWHERE! Out of thin air, they just appeared, gracing the skies with their elegance, and all flying NORTH, of course. We were told by the local folks that this is quite normal for springtime, when different species of butterflies hatch out and head north to the tropics. It's called the "Kaleidoscope of Butterflies." These elegant "White Capers" just fluttered northward, at about 6 feet off the ground, surrounding us in traffic, on our bush walks, and all over the city---wherever

Young "Fluffy" kooka who ate too many butterflies!

they desired.  Enter:  hungry predators.  Yep, a new fresh treat flashing before the eyes of hungry birds and mammals was too tempting to resist.  But the birds have a better chance of catching them because we NEVER saw even one caper butterfly land! A species of moths was also out in force, hanging on our walls and having a royal moth celebration of life! See their fuzzy little heads?  Our "pet kookas", now a steady party of three who never miss a meal, suddenly disappeared for 3 solid days.  Worry took over, when three bedraggled birds finally returned to our back fence to repent of their gluttony!  They were so dehydrated that they could not eat!  The food would stick in their bills, and they'd tip their heads back to eat, and the food could not be swallowed.  They sat on the fence, moaning and crying so sadly.  Problem?  Too many butterfly and moth treats and not enough water!  It has taken about 3 days now to have them finally get hydrated and be able to eat normally. Talk about having something stuck in your craw, these birds did a superb job.

We had a fine opportunity for all the senior missionary couples to meet President Nielsen, the 1st Counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency.  He was en route from Auckland, New Zealand, to fly to Adelaide with President McSwain, our mission President, for a Mission Presidents' Conference.  We were blessed to be able to have him take time to talk with all of us.  We met at the mission home
to share dinner and he spoke to us for about an hour. He graciously offered for us each to have a quick photo with him!  Now that was a surprise.  He is over Self-Reliance for the whole South Pacific region, and was thrilled when we (and Osbornes, the only other Self-Reliance missionaries in all of Queensland) introduced ourselves as Self-Reliance/Education Missionaries.  We got 2 thumbs up and a big smile.  He is a humble and inspiring man.  He instructed us in many areas, but a couple of ideas meant much to us.  He said that the true indication of the Lord's people is how they care for one another.  He spoke of the outposts of the church, some of these little islands in the Pacific where contacting one another is so difficult.  Creative ideas were given for being unified as a people, and being able to improve in their life situations and make progress, both temporally and spiritually.  As "mature couples," he reminded us to have our faces reflect the joy of the gospel, for it is a gospel of pure joy.  And we were reminded to keep a spring in our step.  We have to to keep up with the work!

Fame in the South Pacific:  Remember Gifford Nielsen, (on left)
famous BYU quarterback anyone? He's now 1st Counselor in
 the Pacific Area Presidency. (In back), Mission  Pres. McSwain.

Photo left above, We love our sweet missionaries!  These two sisters
serve in our home stake with 20 other missionaries!  Our Logan  Stake
covers a large geographical area, as do all 11 Brisbane Stakes.
Sister Tavivongoaiboon  is from Bangkok, Thailand,, and her name
is as long as she is tall.  A sweet little ball of joy, she is. Sister 
Grawrock is originally from Russia, and was adopted at age 2 by 
an American couple.  She considers her blessed life a miracle! 


We love our mission, and the increased connection we feel each week with these amazing people.  The world is so full of beautiful people who are trying to do their best, most often.  We are glad to offer some opportunities to help in that process as we introduce people to some of the amazing principles of Self-Reliance.  We've been doing lots of teaching, workshops, meetings, and are planning some big events coming soon.  I know  we're learning so much each day as we immerse ourselves in the work.  So, dear grand kids all, your Grandpa and Grandma have HOMEWORK  every day, and lots of it!!

                  The blossoms just continue to amaze us with their variety & uniqueness. The photo below  was taken on our street just before turning into our little townhouse area.  Weather has been gorgeous since arriving Aug. 20th, but the heat is cranking up each day.  Humidity is often high, and that means get your walk/exercise in early, because it's only going to get hotter.  Today is Halloween and it's evening and already dark.  Strange, but some said we'd have some trick-or -treaters, others said it's not a big deal here.  Yep, we saw only one costume all day.  Our decorations consist of one huge spider web, and 1 tiny plastic glowing pumpkin.  Still, I "tricked" people in our office by stringing a spider web over the boss's area, then "treated" everyone to fresh honey-banana muffins at our meeting this morning!  So we've had our "trick-or-treat" fun.  Do you all miss our family headstones and pumpkin patch in the front yard?  Elder Yates didn't miss having to put them up nor take them down.  Sister Yates definitely misses the fun traditions surrounding the "Yates/Edgel graveyard & pumpkin patch." 

Sorry if  the pictures and text in this blog scatter thither and yon!  This program has a mind of its own, and we never know how it will look until we push "publish."  Hope this time it holds together for you all.  :)

We send you all our love, and best wishes for you and your dear ones.  Our thoughts and prayers are always with you, for health and goodness to come to you in abundance. 

Elder and Sister Yates,      AKA Dad/Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, David & Marsha                    Self-Reliance/Education Missionaries                                                                                                   

 

Gorgeous Jacaranda Tree in full bloom . Native to South
America, in the catalpa family.  See closeup of blossom
cluster in  photo below.  Incredibly beautiful & vibrantly  colored!