Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Grieving Naomi & how you can help March 7, 2025

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Naomi Biel, December 10, 2024 – February 9, 2025

TO LOSE A CHILD of any age is heartbreaking. But that is reality for Nyakueth Biel, a young mother rooted in my community. She is grieving the February 9 passing of her baby girl, two-month-old Naomi, in Brooklyn, New York.

Nyakueth’s daughter will be remembered during a funeral service at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at my church, Trinity Lutheran in Faribault, before she is laid to rest at Maple Lawn Cemetery. No mother should have to bury her child, especially an infant.

I think of my own newborn grandson, who will soon turn two months old. And then I think of darling Naomi and her grieving mom, grandma, aunt and uncle. Pain runs deep.

Naomi’s obituary describes her as a very happy and healthy baby who was deeply loved and brought immense joy to those around her. And then she died. Unexpectedly. Within nine weeks of her December 10, 2024, birth.

SUPPORT IN LAYING NAOMI TO REST

And now Nyakueth, who is facing unfathomable grief, is also facing financial challenges in paying for her daughter’s funeral expenses. And that’s how you can help. Nyakuan Daniel has started a GoFundMe fundraiser, “Support for Nyakueth Biel in Laying Baby Naomi to Rest.”

Nyakuan Daniel explains:

We are reaching out to our community for support during this incredibly difficult time. Any contribution, no matter how small, will go toward covering funeral expenses and ensuring that Nyakueth has the support she needs as she navigates this heartbreaking loss. Your generosity will help ease her financial burden so she can focus on healing and honoring the memory of her precious daughter.

What wonderfully loving, supportive, heartfelt and heartbreaking words.

If you are able and so moved, I encourage you to contribute anything you can to help Nyakueth. The fundraising goal is $16,000. Click here to reach the GoFundMe page.

SHOWING COMFORT, LOVE, COMPASSION…

I personally comforted Naomi’s grandmother shortly after her granddaughter died. She was waiting for her daughter to arrive in Faribault from New York. I wrapped Nyayual in a tight hug, held her hands, prayed with her. And then I organized with friends to help the family financially. While our gift is small compared to Nyakueth’s needs, it helps. But more so than the money, it is the love, compassion, care and support that matters the most. We want Nyakueth and her family to feel the love of their faith family and many others.

As Nyakuan Daniel writes in her GoFundMe letter: Let us come together to support Nyakueth and show her that she is not alone in her grief. And that, my friends, is within our power to do.

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NOTE: If you prefer not to donate via GoFundMe but still wish to support Nyakueth with a financial gift, please reach out to me and perhaps I can help. I’m offering this option to those of you who know me personally and have my personal contact information.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

At the Legion on Veterans Day & more November 15, 2023

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I photographed this sticker on a Vietnam War veteran’s car on Saturday before the Veterans Day program at the Rice County Veterans Memorial in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL, I wore a POW bracelet, the thick silver band wrapping my wrist. The name of a prisoner of war was imprinted thereon. If I could find that bracelet, I could give you a name. But I can’t. Rather I hold only the memory of that Vietnam War era bracelet reminding me of those imprisoned and missing during a war that drew protest and anger from many Americans. As a high school student of the early 1970s, I, too, held conflicting opinions about the war. Not about those who served, but about the war itself.

This eagle and dove sculpture centers the Rice County Veterans Memorial in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

All of that aside, today I recognize the personal toll the Vietnam War, any war really, takes on those who are actively involved. You cannot enter the battlefield, kill the enemy, see your fellow soldiers die, without experiencing trauma. It’s a lot. And those who served deserve our thanks and respect.

Area veterans’ memorials, like the one in neighboring Shieldsville, honor our veterans. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

I am thankful for organizations like the American Legion and its auxiliary, which continue to support, honor and recognize those who have served this country. That includes Post 43 in Faribault. In 2024, the local post celebrates its 100th birthday.

Before the meal, which included Trinity Piemakers’ homemade apple pie for dessert (compliments of Bob and Louise Flom), this pair explained the significance of items on the MIA/POW table, right.

On Saturday, following the Veterans Day program at the Rice County Veterans Memorial, Randy and I joined vets and their families and others at a Post 43 luncheon and program. During that event, Legion Commander Mark Quinlan and an auxiliary member stood near a round, cloth-draped MIA/POW table. They explained the symbolic significance of each item on the table.

A symbolic lemon and salt. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

A single red rose in a vase represented bloodshed. A lemon slice on a plate stood for the MIA/POW’s bitter fate. Salt sprinkled on the plate symbolized the many tears shed by loved ones. The lit candle stood for hope… As they spoke, I thought of that POW bracelet I wore 50-plus years ago and wondered if my soldier ever came home.

Resting on a table at the American Legion on Saturday. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

I had the honor on Saturday of dining with two veteran friends—Virgil, who served in the US Marine Corps from 1955-1958, and Roger, who served with the US Army in the Korean War from 1952-1954.

Karen Rasmussen talks about the history of the US flag, displaying the flag at various stages in time. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

Veterans and their families ringed the round tables for conversation and a meal of BBQs, baked beans, chips and homemade apple pie. That meal followed a detailed presentation about the history of the American flag by Legion Auxiliary member Karen Rasmussen. She also presented gift bags to several veterans.

Even the gift bags were patriotically-themed. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

One of the most memorable and touching moments came when Steve Bonde played the songs for each branch of the military on his trumpet. By heart. He asked veterans to stand when they heard their songs. Pride and gratitude rippled through me. There’s something about music that stirs the soul in a way that words cannot.

Placed on a table at the Legion, a US Army cap and money for the free will offering lunch. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

But words, too, hold meaning. Saturday evening my church, Trinity Lutheran, honored veterans in the congregation during the worship service and with a potluck afterwards. Virgil and Roger were among those servicemen attending. This time, though, I sat by Bob, a US Army veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait, and by Mark, the Legion commander with service in the US Navy and Air Force. It was an honor to share a chicken dinner and assorted potluck sides with my friends and with Raquel, married to Bob.

A wall of photos at the Legion honors past commanders of American Legion Post 43, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

Sunday morning I listened to the Trinity worship service on the radio, this time led by a different pastor. I appreciated the Rev. Bruce Stam’s prayers for veterans. He asked for God’s blessings upon all who’ve served in the Armed Forces and for healing for those vets wounded in body and soul. But it was the final part of his prayer which struck me the most. “We pray especially for the young men and women who are coming home with injured bodies and traumatized spirits.” To hear that acknowledged was necessary, reassuring in many ways and, I hope, a comfort to anyone listening.

A POW MIA flag photographed during the Veterans Day program at the Rice County Veterans Memorial reads, “YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2023)

War is hard. War traumatizes. War changes. We need to understand that and to remember. Just as I remembered that POW bracelet I wore honoring a prisoner of war who may, or may not, have returned home from Vietnam.

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Reminders to “be still” & the value therein March 4, 2020

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Minnesota Prairie Roots edited file photo December 2017.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be still?

The answer to that, I suppose, can be far-ranging depending on context. Ask a child to be still and you likely want them to sit quietly. Waiting.

Ask an adult to be still and you likely want them to listen.

Waiting and listening. Both are important in relationships, in communicating, in understanding.

Now take those two words and consider them from a faith perspective. Be still and know that I am God. That scripture, Psalm 46:10, has once again—thrice in the past several days—popped right before my eyes. And I mean that in the literal sense although “popped” may be a bit of a stretch. While reading the book, Red Letter Challenge, for a Lenten series focus at my church, that bible verse showed up on page 19 in the introduction.

Only two days prior I found Psalm 46:10 penned in my handwriting on an envelope buried in a drawer I haven’t looked in for months.

And then, yesterday, I found a bookmark inside Troubled Minds—Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission by Amy Simpson (a book I’d highly recommend) and gifted to me by a dear friend. She’d tucked the bookmark, with the verse, Be still and know that I am God, inside. I read the book months ago. But a recent sermon on the stigmas of mental illness by the pastor at my friend’s church, Emmaus in Northfield, prompted me to pull the Simpson book from the shelf. And then rediscover the be still bookmark. I’d highly recommend you listen to this sermon series about the “no casserole disease.”

But back to Psalm 46:10. I’ve written here previously about that scripture first emphasized to me by my friend Steve. And then soon thereafter, during an especially challenging period in my family’s life, the bible verse just kept showing up. In hymns, devotionals, on a child’s drawing, on a print in the public restroom of my mom’s care center, on a handcrafted paper angel…

Some might call this coincidence. I don’t. As a woman of faith, I believe these words were meant to be imprinted upon my heart. Psalm 46:10 reminds me that even in the midst of chaos, God is here, with me, carrying me through difficult days, encouraging me to be calm, to be still, to understand that I am not alone.

Nor are you alone. As human beings, we all hold the capacity to be there for one another. To sit quietly. To listen. And then, when we can, offer compassion, support, hope and encouragement. To bring the hotdish when no one else does. To love and embrace. To be there.

THOUGHTS?

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

When the holidays are anything but happy December 27, 2018

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An edited photo of a sign promoting kindness as part of The Virtues Trail Project in Faribault. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

THIS PAST YEAR SEVERAL FRIENDS lost loved ones—one to suicide, another to an aggressive cancer, the other to advanced age-related health issues. Friends are battling cancer. Other friends are facing a myriad of challenges.

Christmas is not always easy. It can be downright difficult when you’re missing a loved one or working through something that’s really really tough. I get that. And I hope in some small way that my friends feel my care for them. I’ve reached out with words of comfort, with hugs, with a recognition of their struggles. I don’t pretend that I can erase their grief or solve the issues that are affecting their lives. I simply want them to know that they are not alone, even if they feel alone.

More than ever, it’s important for each of us to step outside of ourselves and recognize that people are hurting. Within our circles of family and friends. It’s important to realize that loss—whether by death or through strained relationships or other factors—hurts. We can ease that hurt by caring. Caring enough to ask, “How are you?” Caring enough to validate an individual’s loss and say, “I’m sorry.” Or “I’m here for you.” It doesn’t take a lot of effort. But it takes that pause, that ability to recognize that saying something is better than remaining silent.

I understand. I’ve heard words of care and support when I needed them. But I’ve heard, too, the loudness of silence.

TELL ME: How do you support family and friends dealing with a loss and/or a difficulty, especially during the holiday season?

© Copyright 2018 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Lul & her family need our help October 20, 2017

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We each have the power to make a positive difference in the lives of others via our words, our actions, our gifts. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

MY DEAR READERS,

I know you to be kind, caring and compassionate. So I am asking, if you wish and are able, to help a family in my Minnesota community.

Lul Ahmed and her family need your assistance as the 13-year-old recovers from injuries sustained after she was struck by a Lincoln Navigator on the way to her bus stop Tuesday morning. As of Thursday afternoon, she remained in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

As you might expect, the Ahmeds face financial challenges now with missed work, travel and other expenses.

I don’t know the family. But that doesn’t matter. They are in need and I can relate, in a small way, to their experience. Eleven years ago a car struck my then 12-year-old son as he crossed the street on the way to his bus stop. Unlike Lul, he received only minor injuries.

The Faribault Diversity Coalition, a remarkable group in my community fostering acceptance and working with local immigrants, is accepting donations of cash and gas or grocery cards for the Ahmeds.

Donations may be dropped off or mailed to:

 

Faribault Diversity Coalition
324 Central Avenue N.
Faribault, MN. 55021

 

Mark gifts for “Lul’s Family.”

I’d like to take this a step further and ask that you also include a get well or other card of support for the Faribault Middle School eighth grader and/or her family. I so appreciated encouraging words and cards after my son was struck in 2006. I expect the Ahmeds would feel the same.

Thank you, dear readers, for considering my request. We have the power, through gifts and words, to comfort, help and support a family, to show them compassion and kindness.

Audrey

 

© Copyright 2017 Audrey Kletscher Helbling