We met Harald during our time in Geneva, from 2000 to 2002, through the young adults’ group (YAGs) at EBCG.
I (Angie) believe he was one of the first people I met at EBCG. We discovered that we shared a love of cinema, so we were sometimes cinema buddies. I distinctly remember going to see Dancer in the Dark with him and, later, eating ice cream and discussing the film afterwards. Harald was a beloved member of our YAG’s ‘family’ and one of the loveliest people I have ever met. His kindness, personable manner, genuine warmth, and humble attitude endeared him to many. I remember with fondness his childlike enthusiasm to join in with whatever activity or event was at hand and his beaming smile. I also remember him being often behind the camera, documenting our YAG’s adventures (or looking for somewhere to recharge his camera’s battery!)
When we married in April of 2002, Harald honoured us by agreeing to be one of our ushers. We knew this role suited his friendly nature to a tee. We have attached a photo of Harald with Russell in the middle, and Andreas (another tall Swede!) on the other side at our wedding. Shortly after our marriage, as we were leaving Geneva, Harald gifted us with CD-ROMs with videos and photos from our time there. We were touched that he took the time to collate these for us and will always treasure these recorded memories. When we came back for visits, Harald was always up for getting together. Over the years, we kept in touch with, at least, annual Christmas greetings but it had, unfortunately, been many years since we had seen him in person when he emailed about his health. We were greatly concerned and were thankful that he had included us on that email list so that we had the opportunity to send him our love and to let him know that we were praying for him. We had thought that we would catch up with him via Zoom when he felt up to it, praying all the while that he would be healed. We were shocked and saddened when we heard he had passed away much too soon. It is with great sadness and regret that we will not be able to have that Zoom meet-up or any future visits here in this temporal world, but we look forward to a Heavenly reunion with our lovely friend, Harald. We send our most heartfelt condolences to his friends and family.