Oh my heart. It’s taken me months to blog The Beyond Workshop in Nepal pictures because they truly are so special to me, and I wish I could tell everyone in person the stories about these beautiful faces. Can’t you just see how life-giving it was to be in their presence?!
The photographs taken in the field are from land right outside of Kathmandu. I learned that when the locals don’t have much to harvest in the fields, the second source of income is brick-making. As you can see, there’s a furnace and a factory of sorts in the middle of the lush green fields. These hard workers hand-make over 2,000 bricks A DAY. Watching their routine was unreal, all ages and sizes (little children to elderly!!!) were all working together to run the whole process. Us attendees spent time interacting with the locals and documenting their whole process, from creating the paste to carrying the dried bricks and stacking them in rows to dry in the hazy sun. The Nepal people’s beauty, hard work ethic, and sense of community never cease to amaze me.
One of the most treasured parts of traveling is the constant reminder that people are people. No matter the differences in location, culture, race, or beliefs, we all have commonality in our humanness.
I adored this time spent with locals and specifically watching these women interact while working in the field. As we asked to take a picture, they instinctively fixed each others hair and straighten up their clothes. When we told them “Ramri!” (Beautiful!) they did as most do, act bashful and laugh. Oh women are women. People are people. And I simply love these snapshots to remind me of that.
Also, some of the later photographs are from our time spent at an Aama’s home which is an elderly home for women. Spending time with them fillllllled my heart. We danced, clapped, hugged, and laughed. So many things were lost in translation, but what was evident is that love transcends all language and cultural barriers.
So how did Nepal change the trajectory of my life? Why is it a milestone? This experience confirmed my passion for using artistic talents for social justice awareness, furthering the kingdom in cross-cultural settings, and fulfilling the Great Commission. So after Nepal, I sensed the Lord asking me to put a pause on my business and trust him for a longer period of time in the mission field. I felt the “best next step” was to serve on the World Race. Starting in January, I will be traveling to 11 countries in 11 months and hopefully documenting more stories like this. And the best part? I just found out one of my countries is NEPAL! If you want to read more about what I’ll be doing, click on my NEW blog>> www.elizabethbacon.theworldrace.org!
