Sunday, August 24, 2008

Hope Flies High

Last weekend, Christian and Stephanie Nielson were horribly injured and burned in a crash of a small private airplane that claimed the life of the pilot, Christian's flight instructor. Christian grew up in our ward and later lived for a time in the ward with Stephanie and their four children. We have all been deeply impacted, both by the severity of their injuries and the faith of their family and friends.

Yesterday, many neighbors and friends gathered across the street from our home to launch helium balloons into the sky, symbolic of our love, faith and best wishes for this young family. At precisely 5pm Arizona time, in sync with other groups at many similar gatherings elsewhere, dozens of bright balloons rose with our hopes into the bright sky.

The Stephanie and Christian Nielson balloon launch

The Stephanie and Christian Nielson balloon launch

The Stephanie and Christian Nielson balloon launch

The Stephanie and Christian Nielson balloon launch

May the Lord bless and keep you, Stephanie and Christian.

You can see all the photos Mark took at the balloon launch on Flickr.

2 comments:

runningfan said...

What cool photos! Looks like it was a neat gathering.

Cassie and Chad said...

Wow I love those pictures. There was even one in front of my house!!! Oh I miss that neighborhood.