1932-07-22: Cologne, Germany

Dear Mother and Dad,

I'm being transferred up north to my branch in the morning, so I'm writing while I can.  Hamburg is my destination which is about a day's ride from Cologne.  We were rather surprised today when they told us that our school days were over.  They usually try to keep the new missionaries in school for about a month or more.  But right now they are so short of missionaries that we are being sent out with only two weeks training.  So my mission has really begun now and it looks like it is going to be a man's job.  This learning the language etc. isn't so easy as might be supposed.  I've been here two weeks and still have to talk with sign language, but I am getting along better than most of them. 

My trunk hasn't arrived yet so I was forced to do a little laundry this morning.  Being an amateur, I went off and left my clothes in the tub to soak and when I came back , my socks had done a neat calcimine job of the whole works.  But the house "frau" came to the rescue and boiled them out for me and everything is o.k.  I'll have a laundress when I get to my branch. 

Yesterday, I and the district president attended a Catholic funeral which was very odd and interesting.  One of the new saint's mother died and we were obligated in going.  The custom over here is to walk to the graveyard behind the hearse, no matter how far it is.  So all the men turn out in their walking shoes, with their long swallow tail coats and tall silk hats. 

It is too bad that I can't stay in Cologne until next week.  Hitler is coming to town and I might have been able to see some hot campaigning.  Things are pretty hot around here as it is.  While tracting the other day, I and my senior companion came to the door of a strong Communist, who sure raked us over the coals about religion.  Over here, people think religion is poison and some of them don't believe there is a God. 

Tell Peck I'll write to him as soon as I can. 

Love,
Clarence

Give me Phil's and Druce's address.