Only Skin Deep

Once upon a time....there was a young family living in Arizona. They are the Nielsons. In 2008 the young couple left their four children with family and, with a friend, took a small plane on a short flight. On the return trip, after refueling, the plane crashed. The friend did not survive and the Nielson's were badly burned. Stephanie was in a comma for three months and went through multiple major surgeries to repair her burned skin. You can View her video HERE

Stephanie has come a long way, she has shared her story with the world in hopes of changing a very narrow perspective on beauty. She says in her video, "I am Stephanie Nielson and I am not my body" We are all more than our outward appearance. Through her strength, courage, and perseverance she has changed lives of women all over the world. As she goes about her daily life she faces curious looks of strangers. She must reconcile the past with the present and prepare herself and her family for the future. Life has not been easy for her since her accident- but she is finding joy in the life she has been given. She is grateful to be alive, raising her four children and preparing to have her fifth. She knows, and is teaching her children, that beauty is more than what you look like- But more importantly it is your attitude and how you respond to challenges in your path. Life is what you make of it! Happily ever after comes to those who don't give up- those who keep pushing through their trials. Stephanie did not give up.

You can follow her blog at http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

The Power of One

Once upon a time there was a young man by the name of Helmuth Hubener. He was born and raised in Hamburg Germany by his mother and step father. He was a happy young man. He came from an apolitical family, was a devoted boy scout and was, as was 2 previous generations, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, in 1935 the Nazi party banned scouting in Germany and required all youth to join Hitler Youth. Not so slowly Helmuth became dissatisfied with the direction things were moving. His new church leader, a convert of only 2 years, instituted a new policy banning Jews from attending his church services. Helmuth strongly disagreed with this new policy but continued to attend his meetings. (there were 2000 members of the church in Hamburg and only 7 were pro-Nazi, but 5 of those happened to be in his congregation) After Helmuth completed Middle school in 1941 he began an apprenticeship at the Hamburg Social authority. During this time in his life, Helmuth began to make friends. Friends with varying backgrounds, and they began to listen to enemy broadcasts-which at the time was a form of treason. that summer he found a short-wave radio in his own hallway closet and began to listen to the BBC on his own. From these broadcasts, Helmuth began to write anti-war leaflets and anti-fascist texts which he printed many copies of. These pamphlets were designed to show how skewed the local war reports were and to point out Hitler and other Nazi leaders criminal behavior.

In the fall of 1941, Hubener managed to involve two other friends. Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and Ruddi Wobee, who were both members of his faith. Together they distributed about 60 different pamphlets with typewritten information from the British broadcasts. They would pin them to bulletin boards and shove them in mailboxes and coat pockets. Anywhere they could put them without drawing too much attention.

In February of 1942, Helmuth decided to have his pamphlet translated into french and distributed to POW's but he was found out and denounced by a co-worker who had noticed his actions. He was arrested by the Gestapo and even though he was only 17 he was tried as an adult. He confessed fully to all charges and took the blame for his actions. Thus protecting his friends who had also been arrested. His friends were sentenced to 5-10 years imprisonment. Helmuth however, was sentenced to death by beheading and stripped of all civil rights. This allowed him to be mistreated while imprisoned allowing him to be beaten and deprived of any kind of bedding or blankets. He was not told of his sentence until the day it was to be carried out. He was executed on October 27, 1942

The day of his execution, Hübener wrote to a fellow branch member, "I know that God lives and He will be the Just Judge in this matter... I look forward to seeing you in a better world!"— from a letter written by Hübener, the only one believed to still exist

How is this a happily ever after? Because he was right. God will be a just judge in this matter. Yes his life was ended early but what a life?! He didn't single handedly end the war but he did what he could to better educate the people around him. He was a hero. Using his knowledge to prevent his friend and family from being led astray by false reports. Not many 17 year old's today would even care let alone sacrifice their life. I look forward to meeting him in that better world!

(this is the condensed version. For full story please watch the documentary "Truth and Conviction")

Sunshine after the Rain

Once upon a time there was a young woman named Norma Hansen. She was born in Provo Utah. She was raised during the depression with her family of five in a two room home. Her father was away from home most of the time, because unlike many families he had a job. A job that paid less than welfare but he believed in supporting his family himself. In spite of limited funds Norma grew up happy. She had many friends and even more boyfriends. However, when she was a teenager she lost both her grandparents and in October of 1941 her mother's heart began to fail. She was hospitalized for a month. Soon after, Norma was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and had to have surgery to remove her appendix and part of her intestine. Soon after she was released from the hospital, Norma and her boyfriend Bill heard over the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Bill would have to leave for the war.

In June of 1942 Norma's mother passed away from heart failure. Norma was just 18. She and Bill had decided to get married but her father said it was too soon after her mothers death and would not be socially acceptable. So Norma and Bill eloped in July of 1942. Her father was not present for the wedding. A few days later the couple would report for duty in New Mexico. The living conditions were substandard for a family but the couple was young and in love. Norma became pregnant with her first child. while she was 5 months pregnant Bill was in a train accident- he lived but he was put on leave. Once the leave was up he was assigned to a base in Virginia and Norma went home to Utah to deliver her baby. The baby was breech and because of crude delivery methods, Norma was unable to move the lower half of her body for two weeks. Bill was still away so Norma took care of their son alone for the first year. Bill came home and a few years later she had another baby. The baby was taken out of the room after birth and died about 30 min later. Norma wasn't told until the next morning. Over the next few years she had a few miscarriages and two more full term pregnancies- both babies died from spinabifida.

Norma, after having six children and only having 3 survive, once said, "my time for child bearing and burying was over"

She lost her father and spent many years struggling with her crohn's disease. She also suffered from kidney stones and spent many hours on dialysis. There were times in her marriage to Bill that they struggled- he smoked for many years and their goals and standards were not in sync. They eventually worked through those problems and In her old age her husband Bill passed away from heart failure.

Norma did not have a fairytale life. She had probably more than her fair share of trials. She is the heroine of her story. Through it all she never thought of herself. She was always helping others. She was a nurse by profession and a mother to all. It was said of her, "you shall be blessed with a disposition of sunshine and happiness that shall make people feel that they are indeed blessed to have your friendship" And people did indeed feel that way about her. No one wants to read about a heroine who wallows in her sorrow. We want to read about a heroine who keeps fighting for her happiness. Norma was a fighter. She was a woman of faith- she never let her trouble get her down, at least not for long. She wrote in a book of hers, "When facing your Goliaths, know that help is only a stones throw away"

Norma faced her Goliaths, and she had many, but she did not complain. When someone was facing a problem she would say, "can you change it?" "If you can do something about it then do it. If you can't, then accept it and move on" She was an example to many. she faced her challenges and she still came out smiling. She left a legacy of people who lover her. who have learned and are still learning from her example. She was sealed to her husband for time and all eternity. I know she is with him again. I also know that she is with those 3 children that she lost so long ago. She is living her happily ever after...