26 Sep 1927
John to Grandmother Smith / Geneva, Switzerland
I suppose this is somewhat of a surprise but I think of how lonely you must be and maybe a letter from me might help to cheer you, so I just have to write. I am way over in the land of Switzerland, in the farthest corner. This is the headquarters of the French mission which includes France, Belgium and Swisse. We are here at headquarters waiting to be assigned to a branch to work. We arrived last Tuesday after a 20 day trip from home.
Geneva is a very beautiful city. It is about as large as Salt Lake City and very similar. It reminds me more of home than any city I've been in since I left. It is situated way up at the head of a large lake and is surrounded on all sides by mountains. The train has to go through a tunnel some five miles long in order to get through the mountains into the valley. The city is kept alive by the surrounding farmers who bring their products in to Geneva to sell them. The things that are raised are mostly fruits and garden trucks. There sure are also a lot of grapes raised for the making of wine, the chief industry here. There are also several watch factories here in Geneva.
We had a wonderful trip over here. We sailed from Montrial on the 9th of September, aboard the S.S. Montclaire. It is a wonderful ship about 3/4 of a block long and as wide as the street. We had good seas all the time except the first day at sea. We all got sea sick and fed the fish. We arrived in Liverpool on the 16th and then crossed England and then sailed across the Channel to Antwerp, and then (went by) train to Brussels. We remained there for two days and then came to Geneva. It was very interesting coming across England. The farms are so small but very well kept. They look like a lot of people's front lawns with fences around them.
Thank you very much Grandma for the help you gave me, which enabled me to go on my mission. If it had not been for such people as you I would not have been able to go on a mission and have all these wonderful experiences, so I really appreciated it very much. I hope that your health will improve and you will not be troubled with your awful sickness this winter...
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