“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ Hebrews 13:5.” Helene Neuhaus has committed her life be faithful to God and trust in him to give her everything she needs.

Helene Neuhaus was born October 25, 1941 at her home west of Bancroft, Nebraska. She described her childhood self as a “farm girl.” She remembers helping her mom do the chicken chores, mowing, and milking cows. She remembers that she hated getting the eggs because the chickens would peck at her, watching for the cord while mowing because they had an electrical mower, and being excited about the new milking machine. She played in the grove, made play houses, and rode bikes to school with her older sister.

Helene went to Zion Lutheran school for elementary and junior high. She then went to Bancroft for her high school career. She thought about furthering education to be a beautician because she loved working with hair.

But, God had other plans for her. She met her husband Larry when she was a sophomore while at the roller skating rink in Lyons. Helene says that the year 1960 was her favorite year because she got to start a new life with her husband and and the new experiences it brought. One of the experiences was learning how to cook on her own. Helene’s advice to a successful marriage is to “never let the sun go down on your anger. Talk it out, communicate.”

Helene stayed home to be a mom for her three boys. She doesn’t regret not going to college and getting a career. Instead, she says her biggest success was getting married and having a family. Some of her favorite memories are with them. One of the memories was the vacations to Estes Park, Colorado for YMCA camp.

As her kids grew older, Helene has done many different hobbies and jobs to keep her occupied. She likes to garden, cook, and sew. She likes making simple quilts in her free time. She has worked at Hormel’s office and was a cook at the Oakland Hospital for 13 years.

Throughout the years, Helene has learned many lessons including staying humble, courteous, kindness, keep communication open, forgive, and leave the past in the past. Helene has been blessed with no difficult challenges. She says if you are faced with a challenge, start out small and eventually it will be done. Her advice to anyone is “staying true to God, do not wary from the true God, look to God’s word and not to be influenced by earthly items. God’s word is true.” She also states, “We feel like we can do anything, but we need to look towards God for the right answers.”

I am so grateful to be able to interview Helene Neuhaus and learn from her story. I’ll never forget all that she has done for me and others.