17 Jan 1929
John Griffin to Mother / Grenoble, France
It seems like I'm having a terrible struggle to keep above the weather. I've felt pretty rotten since Sunday. Monday I didn't feel very well but managed to keep up and going anyway. Tuesday morning I went out tracting and [at] the second house I got an invitation in. When I got up Tuesday morning I was so hoarse I could hardly croak. So after trying to talk for a half an hour I quit and came home. It was too bad I couldn't talk better because it was a good prospect. However I made a visit for next week, so it's not entirely lost. Yesterday I stayed in most of the day. I went to the dentist for the last time last evening. He filled two teeth and killed a nerve and charged me 60 Fr or about $2.40. Pretty reasonable, I think.
Yesterday I gargled with Mercurichrome, took "Pastelles" and every kind of herb tea you could imagine. I thought I would be better this morining, but when I got up I was as hoarse as ever and besides there was a raging blizzard blowing, so I decided to stay home. I believe I feel somewhat better, but yet I can hardly speak. It is surely annoying because that's the biggest part of what I have to do. I think I shall go out this afternoon and try to make a visit. I don't know how far I'll get. The madame here insists on plastering me up with mustard plasters and pouring herb tea down me until one of these days she's really going to have me believing I am ill. I think all it is, is a bad cold, and that it will soon be over.
As I said we awoke this morning to find a blizzard blowing and a half a foot of snow - the first real snow this year. It is still snowing and blowing. The natives say that this will probably last until the last of March now. I hope I am moved before then.
Things havn't been going along any too well lately. Last Sunday our meeting was not a very good success. In the first place it was real cold and we couldn't get the stove to work, and that left a cold atmosphere in the hall. Frere Hathcock (my companion) had an awful time with his French. I couldn't understand him myself with my knowledge of both English and French, and the worst part was that he took up 20 minutes of the time, during which the people about froze and got awfully restless. After that I had to speak and try to interest them which I don't think I did. I hope that next time things will go better.
Now to get off my troubles a little and give you some of the joyous part. Last Saturday night we went to the Opera and heard one of the best singers in the world sing La Tosca. It was really wonderful; the best I have ever heard. The singer was from the opera at Paris. He is making a tour of France, after which he is going to America to make his Fortune. I surely wish you were here with me to hear things like that. Lucy Gates' operas are like ward plays as compared to these, and the most expensive seat only cost us abut 75 cents. To hear the same singer in New York in the same seat would have cost us at least $10. So we are really lucky in this respect.
Last Sunday we spent most of the day up to the sister who has the mother that is 80 years old. They gave us dinner and supper and we spent the afternoon visiting with them. It was surely nice of them. They are very poor and work hard for everything they have. This offering was very humble yet for all the more reason good. These are the moments that counter act the cold hard moments of tracting, and make mission life worth while.
Last night I received the long letter with the two dollars in it, and by the way, tell Ben to shut up about you writing too much. He'll find out in a couple of years. I was glad to hear you all passed an enjoyable and happy Christmas and that you were all well. I should surely like to have been with you to eat my share of the turkey, but I'll suppose I'll have the opportunity later on. I was awfully sorry to hear that your bag didn't arrive in time for Christmas. I think I mentioned something about it in the last letter. I didn't want to mail it because the duty on leather goods is so high, so I sent it home with a missionary. It seems that some missionaries don't give a hoot for the rest of us back here, and can't even do us a little favor once in a while. I hope it wasn't lost. As soon as I hear from you, if you didn't get it, I'll write to the missionary with whom it was sent home. I sent Dotta's scarf in the mail because I could make a small package of it and send it as an "echantillion" and sometimes get it though without duty. I don't know how successful I was. I wish you would send me your size of goves. Grenoble is the glove center of all Europe. I can buy good kid gloves here that would cost you from 4 to 5 dolalrs at home, bor about $1.60 to $2.00. I don't like to guess at the size because you would not be able to change them there. I think it is size 7. I can send them home in a newspaper so it will cost no duty. If you do not send me the size I will buy size 7 before I leave Grenoble (which will probably be right soon now).
Don't blame frere Johnson for not getting my box to me. He did not get into France until some time after my box. Rather, blame the officials at Geneva. They sent missionaries down through here two days after Chuck mailed my box. The surely pull some dirty tricks. Oh well, that's gone and forgotten. The sweater and shoes feel mighty good these cold days and I wish I would express my appreciation for all the sacrifices you make for me...
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