July 13, 1936
Handwritten letter of John from Saltair to his niece, Hilda Scheffler [Nikl].
Saltair, July 13 - 36
Dear Hilda: I received your letter from June 9th and the card of the 20th. From that I can see that Nephi has been to visit you after you had such a long wait. He writes me how happy you all were to see him and to get to know him personally. He tells me how well you received him and took care of him, and how you met him on the street and recognized him right away. I think that was wonderful, the meeting on the street without a prearranged signal, not even a flower in the button hole as a sign, and I can imagine the surprise. He undoubtedly also had a lot to tell you about his travels and his mission in Germany and in Switzerland. I am glad he was able to rest with you for a few days and that you could entertain each other, and you probably took a picture of yourselves as a group when you made your excursion to the seaside. I haven't seen any forest for years now, and there are no trees here where I live, nothing but a flat desert where the sun shines up to 104 degrees. So you can imagine what a change it would be to take a walk in the forest. I wonder what kind of an impression Nephi made on you and whether he lived up to your expectations? By the time this letter reaches you he will probably be almost home. I would like to thank all of you cordially for your good reception and taking care of him during his stay with you. I will also send you an index list of the Galkas as soon as I get it back from the church offices. You probably wonder what all the names are, names of in-laws and all the aunts and uncles. They have done research everywhere, even over into Poland, and there the (First World) War burned and destroyed the documents.
Nephi writes about the great preparations for the Olympic Games in Berlin in August. The newspapers are full of it here, even about the pre-Games or qualifying rounds for these games. A large contingent will go to Berlin and take part in the various contests and games. That's making for great liveliness in Germany and should bring a lot of money into the country. Maybe that will help to make better feelings between the various nations and peoples that are participating. It has been very hot these last few days; it hadn't rained for a long time up until now. But now it has rained and cooled off somewhat. In various places the rain has washed out the streets. It's very different here than in Germany -- here the fields are irrigated because there is no rain at the times there should be, and everything would dry out.
I think Nephi told you about the purpose of his mission, to call people to repentance just as the disciples of Jesus did in their day. There is also a ward of our church in Elbing; you could visit it when you get a chance. I wish for this letter to find you healthy and well, with a thousand greetings,
Uncle Rudi.