The stairs go down,
Way beneath the ground,
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the mines of Turda.
A day of rest,
Put us to the test,
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the mines of Turda.
Today was Monday. I know you probably know that, but here on the other side of the world, it has been difficult to keep all the days straight. Today was also our day of rest… and a little fun!
Cha Cha took us to Salina Turda, a salt mine in the city of Turda (just outside of Romania’s second largest city, Cluj-Napoca). The salt mine dates back to 1271… and that is not a typo. We traveled down 28 flights of stairs to reach the lowest point in the mine… just 370 feet deep into the earth… in a massive mine that was built entirely by hand and machine rather than explosives. For some very cool pictures that I did not take, check out Salina Turda.
Here’s a group pic that Dena (Cha Cha’s daughter and interpreter extraordinaire) took. We are all smiles!
Of course, what goes down deep into the earth must then climb back up… all 370 feet… one step at a time. Not. Kidding.
We wrapped up the evening at the Garden of Eden, a restaurant in a village called Jibou. Not only was the garden beautiful, but the pizza was delicious. In this pic, you can see Emil (Cha Cha’s son sitting next to me) and the Dena and Cha Cha (sitting across from Penny). We enjoyed great food and fellowship.
On our Tuesday, we will begin with a children’s camp in Simpetru. We are so excited to share “The Armor of God” from Ephesians 6 with them. Then we will travel to Voievodeni, another village nearby Simpetru. Cha Cha is prayerful for a church plant in this village, and we join him by prayer walking the village and distributing some food parcels to a few families in need. We also hope to have a small gathering in a woman’s home, similar to what we did with Marianna in Baica. We’ll return to Simpetru on Tuesday evening for the second night of men’s and women’s Bible study.
We ask that you join us in praying that God will continue to work in and through us in mighty ways!