While attending church meetings at the Takhmao Branch last Sunday, Elder Da invited us to provide service the next day in the rice fields belonging to people in the Baku area. We were glad to have the chance, in part because we wanted to know more about the rice harvesting process. Here's what we learned--it is a lot of fun if only working for an hour and a half. We can't imagine working like that day after day from sunup to sundown. It is exhausting, back-breaking work.

The stalks are cut 30-36 inches from the top, laid in rows to dry, then gathered and carried to a large tarp in the middle of the small field where the bundles are stacked about three feet high. Our knowledge gets a little scant from there because we didn't get to see how they separate the rice from the stalks (maybe next time!). Here are seven photos of our rice harvesting experience. You'll have to click on "older posts" to view the last photo.