ÆGTEPAR

I could not finish this blog without pictures of some of our wonderful friends who have served here in Denmark with us.   Faithful saints from all walks of life with firm testimonies of the gospel and of missionary work.  They have truly been examples to us.

 The Parkers:   Sitting squarely in the window. They were our first neighbors and have been home long enough to go on their next mission to England as an office couple.  Fun people. Brother Parker shared his considerable expertise in Danish research with me.   They are from the Provo area.

Ottley's, Brookes, and me

We were at the White Bus exibit in Copenhagen.  Danish resistance stuff from WWII.

The Ottleys and the Brookes.  (Now home)  Our main partners in crime.  Both were record preservation specialists and had the same working hours as we, so were able to explore after hours and on weekends with us.  They loved to find new and out-of-the-way places to travel especially if we could go by train.  They were both in our branch as well, so we saw them often.  The Brookes actually ended up being our neighbors.  Wonderful couples.  We miss them a alot.  (Brookes from Orem, Utah and Ottleys from  Kenniwick, Washington)

THE BROOKES and me at the Binky Tree

THE OTTLEYS

The Johnsons

The Johnsons:  This couple served on Bornholm, but stayed with us when they came to Copenhagen.  We loved having them stay with us.  Elder Johnson served a mission here many years ago. They are home in Parowan, Utah. 

The Larsens from Aarhus

The Larsens:  A lovely couple serving with young adults on Jylland.  Fun traveling partners, up for any adventure.  Sister Larsen and I love to shop for bargains together and rummage through piles of old STUFF.  She is very artistic and creative and has an eye for beautiful old things and how to use them.  Elder Larsen also served in Denmark as a young man and was a companion with Elder Bryner.  They are from Seattle, but going back to live in the Sacramento area in July.  We have great future plans.......

From the back:  The Brookes, me, the Shurtliffs

The Shurtliffs.  Front.  This couple works with the young adults here in Copenhagen and are doing a fabulous job.  They are our neighbors now and do a lot of their work in the evening.  Also a lot of help to the mission.  They are from Houston, Texas, and are learning Danish.

The Jensens

The newest couple, the Jensens.  This couple is from Bear River City, Utah (almost our neighbors) and are record preservation specialists and in our branch.  They love to go sight-seeing and are good natured at being dragged about Denmark.  They love to help with the missionaries.

The office staff.  ( I think this picture is in a previous post.) The Warnsdorfs  (next to us) from Frederiksberg, served in the office with us until February.  We still see them and love to talk to them.  They sent a grand-daughter on a high-school student exchange to Mendon  and now she is maybe staying for college.  (BYU Idaho), so we hope to see them  in the USA.  Elder Bryner, a widower, is standing next to Elder Warnsdorf.  We are still serving with him.  He is an expert on housing and maintenance.  He was raised in Odgen, but has lived most of his adult life in Denmark.  His wife was Danish.  Kind and generous.  The Kochs are a new couple in the office and we are getting to know them.

A rare trip with the President and his wife

President and Sister O'Bryant.  Spiritual giants and wonderful friends.  We have learned much from their teachings and examples.  They have lived many places, but most recently,  California.  They are building a house near Park City and will be home in about a year.  We look forward to seeing them again.

There are also 4 other mission couples on Jylland and Bornholm:  The Yates, the Forslunds, the Ravns and the Halls.  Iceland generally has 2 couples, plus sometimes a couple doing record capturing.  For all of our mission, the Michaelson's have served there, though they rarely come to Denmark.  The temple has 3 couples from the states:  The Larsens, the Ohlsons and the Andersons who are in our branch, and of course, President  and Sister Williams who have returned home.    Part of the rewards of serving a mission are the friendships formed with other couple missionaries.  There is a special bond and knitting of hearts when you serve together.  We are looking forward to many future reunions.