“We lost our only child, Matthew, on March 28, 2005. On that day our world around us collapsed, and everything as we knew it came to an abrupt halt. As days turned into weeks, I prayed every day and night for some type of sign from heaven above to let me know that Matthew was okay.             “On July 14, 2005, what would have been Matthew’s sixteenth birthday, I laid flowers and placed balloons at his resting place, and I again pleaded for a sign, a message from Matthew. ‘Please, Matthew,’ I said aloud, ‘send me just a little something—I’d like to see a butterfly.’ Within seconds of these words being said, the most beautiful butterfly I had ever seen landed upon Matthew’s monument . . .”             Desma Churchill   Butterfly Messengers is a collection of personal stories from people who have had special encounters with butterflies, stories that involve a beautiful butterfly and the passing of a loved one. After hearing so many people describe their encounters with “spiritual” butterflies, Lloyd Hollett, owner of the world-renowned Newfoundland Insectarium, decided to put the stories together in a compilation. This book is the result of his efforts. It is a collection of stories from people throughout Canada and the United States , with the majority coming from Newfoundland and Labrador .