Holey Bibles, Part 2

We were to make our special delivery to a pastor in a small town in Transylvania, which is in the center of Romania. It was late at night when we arrived at the small town and finally found the third house from the corner with one tile missing on the roof. I remember that we drove around for quite a while on those dark streets looking at lots of different roofs! We were really hoping no one would see us and report “a suspicious foreign van driving slowly around the town!” We weren’t given the addresses of our contacts in Romania, just unique descriptions of their homes, in case we got caught and were forced to reveal who we were going to meet. This way we had no actual information to give, printed or memorized. If caught, they likely would have been in the most trouble.

The pastor was thrilled to see us, of course. He opened his gate and we unloaded several hundred Bibles. When he saw the five Bibles with the large holes drilled right through the center, he began to weep, and thank God that we had made it through! It was the week after Christmas, which is why he called us “Three wise men bearing gifts from the west” — comparing us to the traditional three kings who had come from the east, bringing gifts to Jesus after getting past King Herod.

We ate a meal with the family, and they played musical instruments and sang songs for us. That was one memorable experience which I will cherish forever. I really wish I had been able to keep one of those “holey” Bibles as a souvenir!

With the help of PhotoShop, here is a re-enacted stack…

The next day (December 31) we visited Dracula’s castle, (since “officially” we were in the country as tourists), and then planned to drive back to the border. We had to be out of the country by the end of New Year’s Day. That night was New year’s Eve, we had to drive about 150 miles, and there was a huge blizzard! But I will save that story for a future post!