Even though our team was placed in Estonia for ministry, we still had the opportunity to spend a few days in Latvia at the end of the month. Why? Because our squad was gathering in the capital city of Riga for something called Leadership Development Weekend (LDW). Here’s a look at what that was all about!
RIGA
As Squad Logistics, another part of our role is to plan and organize LDW’s during the year. Similar to debriefs, we are tasked with finding a location, securing lodging and meeting space needs and arranging transportation to and from there — but on a much smaller budget. So for our first LDW, my Logistics partner and I decided on Riga since it was the most convenient city for our teams to meet and provided the best options for us to travel on to our next country. Riga also offers the many amenities and attractions that come with being a capital city, which our squad enjoyed exploring.
[Old Town Riga] Riga is the largest city of the Baltic countries with a population of 700,000 people, which is almost twice as big as Tallinn. It is a bustling city with a healthy downtown district and lots of malls, stores and restaurants. And like its Estonian counterpart, Riga also has a very impressive Old Town area that attracts visitors from near and far. There are many beautiful old churches, cathedrals and buildings that make you want to pause for a photo, and the cobblestone streets are littered with boutique shops and eateries. The Old Town area was actually a good distance from our LDW location so my team was only able to spend an hour or two exploring it for a day. But I definitely plan on taking it slower and see everything Riga has to offer the next time I visit!
LDW
So what exactly is Leadership Development Weekend (LDW)? It’s a three day break in between months in which our entire squad meets to learn and discuss various topics on leadership. And while logistically it is similar to a debrief, the focus and purpose are completely different. LDW is not aimed to relax, recharge and reconnect with squadmates, but is packed with different meetings and sessions throughout the day. And no mentors or coaches are flown in — LDW is run entirely by and for the squad.
[Meetings] For our LDW facilities, we were very fortunate enough to secure lodging and meeting space at a local church for practically free! And the weather cooperated with us during our entire stay in Riga so we were able to have our meetings both outdoors and indoors. We would regularly meet and sit on the grass in front of the church for squad gatherings or just to hang out. Then we would move indoors to the basement of the church for our trainings on leadership and evening worship sessions. It was actually colder inside than out most of the time, but hey — you never say no to free meeting spaces!
[Breakouts] During the middle part of each day, there were various breakout sessions for us to pick from and attend. Each breakout was led by a squadmate and generally focused on a topic related to leadership. These breakouts were also an opportunity for different members of the squad to exhibit their own leadership by leading a session, whether teaching a lesson or facilitating a discussion — or both. I was actually led to facilitate a breakout (my topic was leadership, haha) and was pleasantly surprised on how it turned out. It felt like leading a small group discussion back at home!
[Fun and Games] Of course, LDW wasn’t all work with no play. We had time to goof around with a few silly games on our first day together and it was a lot of fun. Our squad was staying at a dorm apartment complex directly across the street from the church so we were able to have our games in the front courtyard area. We played some charades, an interesting version of Pictionary and toe phone texting, haha. But the game that everyone seemed to enjoy the most (as evidenced by the last two pictures) was one that we just learned and played in Estonia the prior month!
