Meet team LBR
Rachel, Julie, Lakota, Courtney, Alyx, and Me!
When we went into gender month, the girls from our two coed teams were mashed together to form one incredible team- team LBR.
So what does LBR mean and where does it come from?
During our month in Swaziland (eSwatini), we had the opportunity to serve at ministry sites called “carepoints.” At our carepoint, Mahangeni, there was a little preschool and a playground, along with an area where they cooked food for the feeding program they run there. Over 100 kids come through every afternoon after school for rice and beans, but most of our time was spent with the preschoolers who were with us all day. We got to love on them, play with them, feed them, and give them nicknames. I don’t think any of us have loved kids we met on the race as much as we loved those ones. Every day we looked forward to our 6 hours of ministry.
Even though we loved it, we also looked forward to our lunch break during ministry. While the kids ate outside, the “shepherd,” or leader, at our carepoint sent us inside the preschool to “take our lunch” and get a little break from the kiddos.
The first day, we thought she wanted us to eat in this little blue room, which was basically a storage closet in the back of the two room preschool. So all six of us sat in there eating our lunch and talking about our first day of ministry as a team. We had such a great, deep conversation and we knew the next three weeks of doing ministry together were going to be incredible. We looked forward to all the conversations that would be had in that little blue room, so we named our team after it.
(The next day our shepherd saw us eating in there and told us we were crazy and to eat in the classroom. It was a slightly bigger blue room, but SBBR doesn’t have the same ring to it.)
The little blue room did not disappoint. The room became a little haven to us. It’s where we ate pb&js and mushy, wet bananas. We talked about our greatest hopes and dreams. We shared lessons learned from each country. We took power naps and sang worship songs. We held sleeping babies and came up with nicknames for all of our kiddos. We laughed with, cried with, and encouraged each other. One day, during a home visit, in another little blue room, we were asked to give a newborn African baby her English name, which led to us sharing the story of Esther with two beautiful women.
The hours we spent in our little blue rooms during our month in eSwatini are precious and priceless. We realized that LBR is not just a physical room, but as a team, it is a place of safety and love. It’s a place where we can cry and laugh and say the crazy/stupid/hard thoughts going through our minds because we know we’ll get a straight response and receive no condemnation. It’s a place where we push each other to grow deeper in our faith and relationship with the Lord. It’s a place of balance and using each other’s strengths to grow in our weaknesses.
Now we get to move on to our second month as a team (sadly without Alyx because she’s a squad leader and had to move on to a new team). One full day into our month in Phom Toch, Kampot, Cambodia and I already know it’s going to be a good one. I’ve already been pushed and encouraged more than at any other point on the Race. These women are incredible, and I can’t wait to spend one last month with them as a team.
Pray for us as we enter into month 8 of the Race on a new continent and in a completely new culture. We will be teaching English to students from preschool to high school, and living with our favorite rat, lizard, spider, and chicken friends out in our small village. It’s bound to be an interesting month, and I am excited for the growth that is to come from being vulnerable with and encouraging each other.
-jb
PS. They have bikes here that we ride everywhere, so ya girl is THRIVING.
