This week's flower is the sunflower, grown as a crop to be made into sunflower oil seen on our way to zone conference in Cluj Wed.   

This only somewhat captures how beautiful acres and acres of sunflowers look.

Cluj is one of the few towns we've visited that is visible from above.  If there are more we haven't been there, so colorful but not really captured in this photo.

Another Elder going home testimony.  He has been the branch president in Timesura Branch.  Pictured to the left is Sora Lunt we served with in Iasi and the back of Elder Hellewell who is the West zone leader now serving in Oradia.

Proud Elders with a new convert.   Far left is Elder Sanchez and the two far right Elder Soberg and Hellewell.  We're slowly getting to know more missionaries. 

 Spent the night in Cluj.  This gave us a chance to visit their Centru not too far away from the branch building.  A very beautiful cathedral  and of course a statue of an unknown hero of some sort.

Famous opera theater the branch members are proud of

 Close up of the statues, one male and one female

Poster that looked like something we would have from our church.  Took a picture to go home and translate.  So good to see that others have our same values.

Support the family founded on marriage of a man and a woman.

Thirty minutes from Cluj is a town called Turda.  Rand had read about the abandoned salt mine that they had turned into a tourist attraction and amusement park.  This was our opportunity to check it out on the way home.

 Everything had a layer of salt from evaporation (I guess)  This is an exit sign surrounded with salt.

 Hallway leading to the elevators/stairs leading down into the mine.  We were surprised to see the layers of salt from the beginning of our entry.

 A few signages were in English but we think these are called stalagmites or stalactites.  Tiny at the top

Much bigger as we descended deeper into the earth.

 lighting looks like an amusement park but there wasn't a lot available to use.

 At the bottom of the deepest mine was a small lake 24 feet deep

 interesting facts about salt

Also in the mine exhibit was this interesting painting telling about freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.  Not sure how that tied into salt but it is something special to the city of Turda.

Again we passed by our favorite stork nest.  There is a family there now.

Alex came to help clean the church on Sat.  We were so appreciative.

 Sat. morning was spent cutting up.  Rand cut the 8 cups of parsley for our green sauce Iranian dish while I cut and cooked the chicken and onions.  

 The recipe said fry the parsley, spinach and chives till black.  We left it a little green.

We had this crock pot done and ready to take to the church by noon on Sat.  After English we shared some with the Sisters.  Sora Dj said it tasted just like what her Grandfather makes back home.  It should, the recipe came from him.  Course his family say he doesn't cook with measuring equipment and the recipe was written down in Farsi.  It was fun trying to figure out their translation.

 Making the Iranian rice was quite the art.  First you cook the basmati rice 7 minutes.  Egg yoke, yogurt, salt and saffron were the next ingredients to stir in.  Then the rice was cooked for about an hour in the oven on the bottom shelf at 400 degrees.

If you did it right it comes out looking like this.

 If not it comes out something like this or worse.  We got the rice ready for the oven Sat. night.  Then we cooked it just before leaving for church.  It was still warm three hours later.  yea!

We loved the the barberries (cranberries unsweetened) on top of the rice and the yogurt, lemon and garlic sauce that went on the green sauce.

All that work for 13 branch members who stayed for "Break the Fast"

The rice dish with the bayberries on it.  The rice cuts just like a cake.

Didn't plan this but the gladiolas are blooming and match the red and yellow in the Romanian flag.   

3 Nephi 19: 2-3  And it was noised abroad, that the multitude had seen Jesus and that he would show himself on the morrow to the multitude.

And they worked all night, even all the night it was noised abroad and they did labor exceedingly all that night so that they might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show himself unto the multitude.

Sure would have loved to have been there too.