December 23, 2025 • 35 mins
What if the thing you’re best at isn’t the thing you’re meant for? We sit down with our friend Rebecca Black, a single mom of three and the founder of Jambos, to unpack how a six-figure sales career and a season in mega-church ministry led to a radical pivot: providing new pajamas to kids in foster care. The path wasn’t linear. It started with a teenage missions trip that sparked a “heartbeat mentality,” a later wrestle with identity on a big church staff, and a simple question at DFCS—what do kids actually need on day one of foster care?
Rebecca shares the personal and practical beats behind Jambos: the name rooted in her childhood and in Swahili, the first small group drive that collected 223 pairs, and the living room that disappeared under mountains of pajamas as schools, gyms, and churches joined in. We dig into the operational side too—budgets, HR compliance, 990s, content calendars—showing how mission and management must move together for a nonprofit to thrive. Her story is a masterclass in purpose with teeth: ask specifically, serve with dignity, build systems that last, and let community power the movement.
You’ll hear the humor of holiday icebreakers, the honesty of past pain, and the hope of provision showing up at the perfect time—a web developer offering help, volunteers raising their hands, and a first-year impact reaching 5,500 kids. If you’ve ever felt torn between comfort and calling, or wondered how to turn a burden into a blueprint, this conversation offers both heart and how-to. Hit play, share it with a friend who’s dreaming of impact, and if it resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what small, specific act could your community rally around next?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey guys, what's up?
I'm Greg.
I hope you guys are ready tounpack and get into some good
conversations tonight.
SPEAKER_03 (00:07):
And I'm Jess, and this is our podcast, Baggage
Claim.
Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
What's up, Baggage Claim?
How's everybody doing tonight?
Um, if you're first time here,thank you for joining us.
Uh, if you're a regular, uh,grab your favorite drink, pull
up to the table.
We're gonna jump into some funconversations today.
Uh, this is uh a place where welike to, you know, hopefully
create some community and someconversations around
(00:37):
relationships and life and allthose fun things in between.
And we have a special guest withus tonight, which we're really
excited about.
Um would you like to introduceit?
SPEAKER_03 (00:47):
You're about to introduce.
No, that's your job.
Our special guest this eveningis none other than Rebecca
Black.
That's me.
She's known around these parts,she's pretty famous.
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_04 (00:59):
Yeah.
Autographs after the after theshow.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (01:03):
We've been friends with her for a long time now.
And there is so much to cover,and we're so excited to have you
here.
Thank you.
I'm excited.
Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:11):
Yeah.
So Rebecca has a very, veryinteresting life of of does some
really cool things that I thinkuh some of you guys, uh it's
just crazy how even I had somefriends that I had known and was
like, hey, we were talking aboutyour your company, and they're
like, Oh, yeah, we know exactlywho that is.
And I was like, Yeah, it's socool.
It's just a small world, butreally cool, small world.
SPEAKER_03 (01:32):
And I'm gonna just throw a disclaimer out because
Greg and Rebecca are a lotalike.
They they can talk paint offwalls, and I mean that in a good
way.
It's a gift.
SPEAKER_05 (01:42):
It is gift.
SPEAKER_03 (01:43):
And if you've been listening to Baggers Claim, I
that's not my strength.
If if there if I have questionsor people are asking me things,
or I have um outline on mynotebook, which there's nothing.
I have seven words written down.
You saw that.
Yeah, it's not okay.
SPEAKER_04 (01:59):
I was like, okay, she she doesn't have my
questions here, and I don't likeit like that.
SPEAKER_03 (02:02):
That's not okay.
SPEAKER_04 (02:03):
I don't need any questions.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (02:05):
Skip me the day.
Um so it'll be probably a lot ofyou two talking, and I'm just
gonna enjoy it, and I will justtry to jump in when I can.
But usually before we jump in,we have something that we call
question time.
SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
Question time.
Nailed question time.
She nailed it.
Question time.
SPEAKER_03 (02:24):
I didn't feel comfortable singing today.
SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
Why?
You're embarrassed becauseRebecca thinks she can sing
better than you.
SPEAKER_03 (02:30):
Sang in voice covered.
SPEAKER_00 (02:31):
She was being in some Destiny Child earlier.
SPEAKER_03 (02:33):
I was.
You were.
SPEAKER_00 (02:34):
I'll bring it back.
SPEAKER_03 (02:35):
Okay.
So have is Christmas.
Would you rather?
unknown (02:38):
Ooh.
SPEAKER_03 (02:39):
Some of our questions have been literally
ridiculous, like would yourather your ears flap every time
you sneeze or whatever?
Like it's just been literallyridiculous.
These are kind of easy.
Would you rather meet Santa ormeet the Grinch?
SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Ooh.
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Oh gosh.
I'm gonna pick Santa.
SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
Is this pre or post like the Grinch story Grinch?
I'm talking about the Grinch,the one that's universal.
SPEAKER_00 (03:03):
Studios, the real Grinch that lives there.
No, the guy that's the guythat's a universal is hilarious.
SPEAKER_03 (03:12):
He is hilarious.
SPEAKER_00 (03:12):
Yeah, that guy's fun.
SPEAKER_03 (03:13):
I found him on YouTube, that guy, reading how
the Grinch stole Christmas, andme and the kids watched it.
They sitting by our fireplace,it's Max the dog, it's a whole
thing.
And we have more fun.
I feel like I've never met him.
We see Santa all the time,right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:26):
He's just a fat, jolly old fella.
He just eats a lot.
SPEAKER_03 (03:29):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (03:29):
You know?
SPEAKER_03 (03:30):
Would you rather be one of Santa's elves or one of
his reindeer?
Oh, reindeer.
SPEAKER_04 (03:35):
Let me drive, baby.
Let's go.
Really?
Yeah.
The elves all they do is work.
SPEAKER_01 (03:40):
They love their work.
Like they have such a good timeworking.
SPEAKER_04 (03:43):
But I'm just saying.
SPEAKER_01 (03:44):
I feel like an elf is just, yeah, you are fitting.
SPEAKER_04 (03:54):
I can't do it.
No.
Put me to work.
Put me on the on the elf.
SPEAKER_00 (03:58):
It would just be like a warehouse job.
Like you're just doing stuff.
SPEAKER_04 (04:02):
I want to be a reindeer so I can fly.
Yeah.
And you get to go to all theplaces.
Elves have to stay the wholewarehouse.
You work what?
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
One whole day?
One evening.
I know.
I want to be Rudolph.
SPEAKER_04 (04:13):
Yeah.
If you were to be a reindeer,which name do you like?
Ooh.
Blitzen.
Prancer.
Ooh.
Ooh, Prancer.
SPEAKER_00 (04:20):
I was thinking, um, I don't I don't even know if
he's a boy or trying to figureout which one is out of the
reindeer's.
Comet and Cupid and Donner andBlitzen.
SPEAKER_03 (04:31):
Dasher.
Dasher.
SPEAKER_00 (04:32):
I think it's Dasher.
Prancer.
I think Dasher, just because itsounds like a cool name.
SPEAKER_04 (04:37):
That's a fast dude.
SPEAKER_00 (04:38):
Yeah, but Rudolph had his own song.
SPEAKER_04 (04:40):
And a glowing nose.
And a glowing note.
Yeah, but it's okay.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Yeah, it's just like, hey, look at me.
You're peacocking over there.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (04:46):
Yeah.
Okay.
There's one more.
Okay.
This is it.
It's a big one.
Would you rather ride the polar?
Would you rather ride the PolarExpress or Santa Slay?
SPEAKER_04 (04:58):
Ooh.
Listen.
That's easy.
Polar Express.
SPEAKER_00 (05:03):
Santa Slay.
Santa Slay.
Polar Express.
Polar Express is.
Did you watch the movie?
Did you see where they're doingthe roller coaster?
Can I tell you honest truth?
SPEAKER_04 (05:11):
Why would that be?
I don't like it when animation,when they make the humans too
real.
I don't like his faces arecreepy.
One minute you're an animationand the next minute you're Tom
Hanks, and I don't like that.
SPEAKER_00 (05:22):
Yeah, it was weird.
That show is a little weird.
SPEAKER_03 (05:25):
Because if you ride the Polar Express, if you've
seen the movie, you are going togo meet Santa.
You're going to the North Pole.
unknown (05:31):
Oh.
SPEAKER_04 (05:32):
But if you are on the Santa Slay, you're like on
his lap.
SPEAKER_00 (05:36):
It feels like it's gonna be either on his lap or in
the bag.
It feels like it's gonna be avery uncomfortable ride.
Wow, moment of silence, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
Polar Express, the icing.
Oh, the icing.
Yes, that would be terrifying.
But really, it's like near-deathexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (06:00):
It's adrenaline adrenaline.
SPEAKER_03 (06:01):
Yeah, adrenaline.
SPEAKER_04 (06:03):
I can also say that I personally can't keep up with
anything.
So that stupid ticket floatingthrough the air is this story of
it.
SPEAKER_03 (06:09):
It's a lot of pressure.
SPEAKER_04 (06:10):
I can't even my debit card, where's my driver's
license?
I never and that is real to me.
SPEAKER_03 (06:16):
So to do the hot chocolate situation in real
life.
The hot, hot, hot, hotchocolate.
SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
I mean, yeah, but don't you think Santa has hot
chocolate on the sleigh?
And it's probably a lot betterthan the case.
SPEAKER_03 (06:32):
Yeah, he has hot chocolate.
I was watching that today.
SPEAKER_04 (06:35):
I was actually watching it today putting up my
Christmas tree.
Right.
That movie was on.
I I like cookies.
I'm trying to eat all themcookies.
So you go ahead, big guy, getyour Santa Slay.
I'll go down the chimney, I'llbe here with the cookies.
Yes, put me on the list.
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Yes, I did.
You make a cookie box list?
SPEAKER_03 (06:53):
She sure does.
She didn't last year because itwas a newborn baby, but yes, she
does.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
I volunteer is true.
Are they like are like they liketalent your cookie box list?
SPEAKER_03 (07:02):
They're bigger.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is there a peanut butter blossominvolved?
There's a peanut buttersituation.
SPEAKER_00 (07:08):
Oh, is that what you call it?
A blossom?
A peanut butter blossom.
Okay, that's her cutie name.
SPEAKER_04 (07:13):
I think the peanut butter cookie with the Hershey
kiss.
New name.
Peanut butter blossom.
That's not what you all call it.
No, no, we just always call itKentucky State.
SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
Peanut butter cookies.
That is Kentucky thing.
SPEAKER_04 (07:24):
Peanut butter blossom.
We're so bougie in Kentucky.
Yeah, that is a peanut thing.
But I was thinking.
I am.
I grew up in eastern Kentucky,near Lexington.
Really?
Yeah.
At Moorhead State University?
No.
Oh shoot.
We were so close.
I know that school.
Really?
I do.
But I grew up in Moorhead,Kentucky.
(07:44):
Save all your jokes for later.
SPEAKER_00 (07:46):
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (07:46):
Yeah.
One more drink of bourbon andwe'll go there.
SPEAKER_00 (07:50):
We'll get up in the Okay.
So we're not going to do like aan official read of a bio.
So I want to tell tell thelisteners a little bit about
yourself.
SPEAKER_04 (08:00):
Okay.
I'm an Aquarius.
I like walking walks on thebeach.
I'm just starting.
SPEAKER_00 (08:05):
Beautiful.
SPEAKER_03 (08:07):
I'm literally one of the funniest people I've known
in my life.
Wow.
And I think that every I thinkthat every time we actually get
to talk, like you're just so funto talk to.
Anyway, I'm hijacking you.
SPEAKER_04 (08:20):
I'm sorry.
No, it's fine.
I'm Rebecca.
I am a mom.
I have three daughters, um,Audrey, Jet, and Reagan.
Um, we have a lot of feelings atmy house.
Everyone's like, oh, you havethree daughters, that's so
dramatic.
But no, we're not reallydramatic.
We just feel a lot.
Right.
So we might cry over a burritoor a boy.
You just don't know.
We don't know.
Like, there's no cheese on this.
Just according to what you dowith it.
Right.
(08:41):
Um Audrey is 18, Jet is 14,Reagan's 13.
So all teenage girls.
No, we just love it over here.
SPEAKER_00 (08:47):
You are up in the feelings.
SPEAKER_04 (08:48):
I am in my feelings, all of us.
SPEAKER_03 (08:50):
So um, we have four teenagers at a time, but two of
them were boys, so it wasn'tanything like what you have.
SPEAKER_04 (08:57):
My brother has three boys and I have three girls, and
we all went on vacation a fewyears back, and his boys like
jumped into the pool with a hotdog in their hand and was like,
and then my girls were like, ifwe could just put a little
glitter on my collarbone rightthere.
I'm like, oh my god.
Like, yep, get in the pool, youknow.
So our worlds were verydifferent but similar.
Um, we're crying over, you know,sand in our socks, and they're,
(09:20):
you know, chowing down oncheeseburgers.
It's it's just interesting.
Anyway, so I have threedaughters.
I'm a mom, I'm an entrepreneur.
I started a nonprofit sevenyears ago.
It's called Jambo's.
We provide new pajamas to kidsexperiencing the foster care
system.
Um, and that has been kind of myfourth child, I guess you could
say.
Oh yeah.
Um, and um huge baseball fan.
(09:40):
Uh, love sports.
Um I love like indie weirdhippie music.
I am this like closet hippie.
It's kind of interesting.
Yeah.
I usually like find songs.
I'm like, this is gonna be aviral song, and then it ends up
happening, and I'm like, ah,that was mine.
Um yeah, that's kind of mything.
Um, what else?
I mean, when you're a single momand you're an entrepreneur,
(10:02):
that's like your personalitytrait.
So I've lost like all thingsthat I love because it's like
I'm just out here grinding.
Yeah.
Um, but yeah, uh, my family kindof lives close.
My mom and dad live here, andthey're my huge like support
system.
They help me with my girls andam I not close enough?
SPEAKER_02 (10:18):
Sorry.
Sorry, everyone.
SPEAKER_04 (10:20):
Um I'm gonna have the microphone closer than
friends who are not watching.
I just need to hold this veryclose.
Um, but yeah, so that's a littlebit about me.
SPEAKER_00 (10:29):
Um so was Jambos your very first thing you've
ever started?
Or is it your first firstcompany?
Or did you that yeah, okay?
SPEAKER_04 (10:34):
Yeah.
Um, I've always had like thisentrepreneurial spirit.
When I was a little girl, I wasthe one making the lemonade
stand.
I sold the friendship bracelets.
I wanted to like figure out howto, you know, buy it for a
quarter and sell it for a dollarat school.
Like I was that girl.
Um, but I never really I didn'tknow what that was.
I just knew I was good at it,right?
So I was like, oh, that'sinteresting.
But like we would make like 50and 60 bucks on a lemonade stand
(10:57):
in my grandmother's front yard.
Like a wisey.
Like, how's this happening?
My mom and I would host a yardsale.
I give my mom the credit forthat though, but we would make
like$1,200,$1,300 at a yardsale.
Oh, wow.
It's like, mom, how did we dothis?
And she's like, I don't know,but let's go shopping.
So um, but yeah, so it's alwayskind of been in me, but I always
worked for the man.
Like I did sales and marketingin the wireless industry for a
(11:20):
long time.
And then um, I've always knownthere was a call in my life to
do ministry.
I just didn't know I had neverreally seen women doing
ministry, if I'm honest.
I grew up in a small church ineastern Kentucky, and most of
the women that I was engagingwith in ministry were Sunday
school teachers or volunteers.
It was never like from behindthe pulpit, women are up here
(11:42):
reading like that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:43):
Um yeah, because you and I met at 12 stone.
So how did you, I mean, how didyou end up at 12 stone?
SPEAKER_03 (11:49):
12 Stone is a large church.
SPEAKER_00 (11:51):
Yeah, sorry, it's uh uh in uh Launchville, it was a
plant.
It was a church start, actually.
Near the Atlanta area inGeorgia, it's North Atlanta.
Uh and it's pretty large.
SPEAKER_03 (12:01):
Yeah, we have to keep in mind we have people
listening literally all over theworld.
Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (12:06):
Hi, hi everyone.
Yeah, we're all over the world.
Um no, so we met.
Um, I went on staff.
It was at that point one of thefastest growing churches in the
country.
Yeah, it was like listed as Imean, it was a big old church.
SPEAKER_00 (12:17):
Yeah, when we were there, I think we would have, I
think it was around 24 to 25,000people on a Sunday.
SPEAKER_04 (12:23):
On a weekend, yeah.
And um, I had no idea what I wasdoing.
I knew I was in sales.
Okay, let me back you up alittle bit.
I worked in, I lived in Tacoma,Washington, and I sold cell
phones for sprint.
And I could sell a phone to adead man.
If you even looked like youwanted to ever talk on a phone,
I was giving you two of them.
It was the craziest thing.
Like I would I would convincepeople that they needed multiple
(12:44):
phones.
Like, why?
She's like, she's 12, you know.
I'm like, okay, you need twophones and you get one for free.
You need a phone, you need one,and I'll get the fucking patron
fee.
Like, that was how you're doingit.
So everybody was getting aphone.
And I was making six figures aslike a 21-year-old kid.
Like, it was crazy.
My dad filed my taxes with meone year, and he was like, Do
(13:05):
you know you want a trip toHawaii and made over a hundred
grand last year selling cellphones in a retail store?
Like, and I was on like 53rdStreet, like I was in a hard
part of town.
Like I was I would sell a phoneto a dead person.
Anyway, fast forward, I wasmaking a ton of money, had the
shoes, had the car, had thehaircut, had the purse, had it
all.
And I hated it.
I hated my life.
I was like, this is so likeunfulfilling.
SPEAKER_05 (13:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (13:26):
Um, and I knew from a young age that there was a
call in my life to serve kids inlike the orphan care, foster
care space because I had workedin an orphanage in Jamaica,
which take a mission trip toJamaica sounds really hard.
That sounds like a really those,Greg.
It's like, okay, you went toMontego Bay for a mission trip.
That sounds all right.
It's like, but it it really wasuh an infant rescue center, and
(13:48):
then we worked in a teen girls'home and I just had such a
heartbeat for it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
How old are you?
SPEAKER_04 (13:52):
And I was 14, 15 years old.
And um, so I just kind offroliced through my 20s and da
da da.
And then I came to this likerealization that like I needed
to surrender all of that.
It was like the Lord was likedoing a work in me.
I had I was a single mom.
I'm like, what is going on?
And um I took like a$75,000 paycut and went to work part-time
(14:13):
at a church.
SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
Now, was there was there anything that brought that
on?
Like I'm just curious, right?
SPEAKER_04 (14:18):
Was there some kind of event that made you kind of
stop and well um fun fact aboutRebecca's testimony is I've been
married twice.
So I was married um to themilitary.
My ex-husband, my firstex-husband was in the military.
And so I had Audrey, my oldestdaughter, and um that all
dissolved after he came backfrom I think it was his third
tour in Iraq.
(14:39):
And um he came home and therewas just a lot of this, I guess
dysfunction is a nice way ofputting it, but it just was
doomed from the beginning.
And honestly, there arecomponents of it now where I'm
like thankful, like the Lord hasjust shown me like that.
I I almost don't remember it.
Like it's like there's a seasonof that that it's either trauma
or God's healing.
(14:59):
I don't know.
But it's like, okay, I that partof my life just feels so
removed.
I mean, it's 25 years ago, soright.
Anyways, fast forward, that hadall dissolved.
My life was just kind of at rockbottom, and I was like, what am
I doing?
You know?
And so I came back to Atlanta,lived with my family.
Audrey and I were with my momand dad, and I was like, I'm
gonna, I'm just gonna startapplying for jobs.
I worked at a I went intowireless again, just kind of
(15:22):
transferred things around.
And then it was like a momentwhere God like said to me, stop
running.
Like start chasing after what Icalled you to.
Don't forget, I you're notdisqualified.
Go chase after what I called youto.
And so I thought I was doing theright thing by going into
ministry, full-time local churchministry.
And that really opened a lot ofdoors for me, and it really
(15:43):
right-sized a lot of things forme.
So I was on staff there, andthen um and that was just a time
where I like really recenteredmy call um to serve people.
SPEAKER_00 (15:54):
When you said it kind of right-sized some things
for you, like what uh give me anexample of a couple examples.
SPEAKER_04 (15:58):
In that season, I was very like driven by
performance.
I was very driven by money.
It was like I have to make X, Y,and Z dollars.
I need this type of car, thistype of shoes, this type of I
was just I I was prettyimmature.
I guess is I don't want to saythat people that think like that
are immature, but I wasimmature.
Right.
And um and then when I got areal understanding of
(16:19):
fulfillment and purpose andcalling and what God is going to
do through me, um, that was thestuff that became the priority.
SPEAKER_05 (16:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (16:26):
So um, so yeah, that was just really right-sized for
me and very quickly.
Like that's the thing about thisrelationship I have with the
Lord.
He's like, when we move, wemove.
Yeah, like we do it.
Yeah.
So nice.
All right.
SPEAKER_03 (16:39):
Look at me picking up my mic staying.
SPEAKER_04 (16:41):
You gotta stay real close to a girlfriend.
Sitting back and hear me drinkthis bourbon through this
microphone.
SPEAKER_00 (16:47):
So when you say you you felt like a calling when you
were 14, like can you can weunpack that a little bit?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (16:54):
Like I'm really curious.
So it's taken me till now to beable to put words around what
that felt like for me.
I'm amongst people.
There was a group of us,probably 25 of us on this trip
from my church.
And my my mom, my dad, mybrother, myself, and then my
sister, she didn't go, but thethe four of us were there.
And I felt um off balancebecause and now I can explain it
(17:18):
like this a lot of the people wewere with had heartbreak
mentality, and I had heartbeatmentality.
And they're different, in myopinion.
Right.
When your heart's breaking forsomething, you can feel very
like paralyzed or sad, orthere's nothing I can do.
I feel so bad.
Like, and but when you haveheartbeat mentality, I'm ready
to run, chase, activate.
(17:39):
Well, how do we make thisbetter?
What can I do?
Where are my gifts?
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (17:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (17:43):
And so I've and like we use that language now at
Jambo.
So like our hearts are beatingfor the kids we're serving.
Um and so I but I was like, whyam I not crying?
Like why everybody around me isso emotional.
And I'm like, what can we do?
How I was activated, right?
Not paralyzed or or down by, youknow, their circumstances were
obviously heart-wrenching, likeyou feel, right?
SPEAKER_03 (18:04):
Instead of a sadness, it was more it almost
makes me feel like you had anempowerment of what you can do.
Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (18:13):
And so I came home and I'm like, I'm gonna be a
missionary, I'm running, I'mgonna move to Africa.
Like I made up, my parents werelike, Yeah, girl, go get it.
Um, but you know, thanks, mom.
Um, but I did, I never felt umdef like defeat, like I couldn't
do anything.
And like, not to say that likemy mom's perspective of that,
she was really, really hurt.
Like being in the atmospherethat circum those circumstances,
(18:35):
she's just like, oh my gosh,this is so sad.
And I saw it as that, right?
But I had I knew that the thatthis was not just a mission trip
high, as they call it, or likethis emotional moment.
It was like, no, I'm supposed todo something about that.
SPEAKER_03 (18:49):
It was more like a kickoff rather than a this is
just like a a trip.
SPEAKER_04 (18:53):
Right.
Yeah, it didn't end there forme, it began there for me.
I think.
SPEAKER_00 (18:57):
Oh wow, yeah.
That is cool.
All right, so you're at 12stone.
Yeah, you've kind of hit you'reyou're just applying for jobs,
and you wind up at 12 stone witha job.
SPEAKER_04 (19:06):
Yeah, and I was in the wrong seat, but I was on the
right bus.
And I was like, okay, we're onthe I'm on the right bus.
I just don't belong in thisdepartment.
Um, and there were just so manythings like that um I learned
and I didn't really know.
I was always like saying tomyself, like, I don't want to
marry, Barry, or baptize any ofthe people in this building.
Like I'm not, I'm notshepherding people, like I'm not
(19:27):
out here like what but my job, Ioversaw all these volunteers and
there were thousands ofvolunteers.
Um I also helped people likeassimilate into the church.
You're new here, let's get yousettled in.
Like, how does it become yourchurch family?
Where where can you get pluggedin?
That was like my whole job.
And I was like cut for that.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
SPEAKER_03 (19:48):
Like as far as like your job, Greg, and your job,
Rebecca, how did y'all becausethat's where y'all's friendship
began.
Our friendship began.
SPEAKER_00 (19:56):
Because uh my job was over.
Small groups.
But also to somehow, some way,um everything in the building
that happened from greeting toushers fell under my title
somehow, some way.
I don't know how.
SPEAKER_04 (20:13):
Uh-huh.
It was it was like adultministry, but like um people
would come into the church andthen I would get them on the
train and then he would helpthem take the ride.
SPEAKER_00 (20:23):
Gotcha.
So it was That's a great way todo it.
So as soon as Rebecca walkedinto the room, we're like, I
remember having thoseconversations with some of the
other guys going, oh, we knowexactly where Rebecca needs to
be.
Like the best place for her isbe in the front lobby.
SPEAKER_04 (20:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:36):
Um and it was, yeah, it's like you were made for
that.
It was an easy, easy fit foryou.
SPEAKER_04 (20:40):
I would agree.
It was and it was fun and Iloved it.
And then I started to feel likeI was loving it more than I
should.
SPEAKER_00 (20:47):
Okay, so tell me about that.
SPEAKER_04 (20:50):
I started really like, of course, your senior
pastors up there speaking, andyou've got the funny
announcement guy that everybodyloves and whatever, but
everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Which I ran into really on the square.
I walked into him and I waslike, Travis.
And he's like, What's up, buddy?
SPEAKER_03 (21:04):
Halloween.
Well, we're up there with no thelighting of the chicken.
Lighting of the chicken.
I go, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (21:09):
It's such a gazebo thing, but they were lighting a
chicken.
He was on a date with his wife.
SPEAKER_04 (21:14):
But uh yeah, I hadn't seen him in forever.
Yeah, so there, those guys werekind of the faces of the inside
the worship hall or worshipcenter room.
Like obviously your seniorpastor, like he's the founder,
everybody knows him, he's theteaching pastor, like you know
him.
But then like Travis was the guyon stage that everybody was
like, he's the funnyannouncement guy.
But then when you came out ofthere, I was like on this on
(21:35):
this huge bridge.
I had thousands of volunteers,people were reporting, quote
quote to me.
It was like I kind of became theface of that lobby.
Yeah.
And I was and I I was proud ofthat.
I love the job.
I love the ministry we weredoing.
It was like you know, it waslike my gifting.
I was in my wheelhouse.
Yeah, you know.
So but I started feeling like Iwas kind of idolizing it.
(22:00):
I was like, oh, well, why am Iso proud of this?
This is and things startedbecoming mine.
And I and where I do loveownership and I want to do my
job well, it was like, hang on aminute.
I started feeling a littleconvicted about the fact that I
was like obsessing, maybe alittle bit about it.
Um so I started the like try tounpack or get unsettled in my
(22:25):
soul, like, wait a second, am Igonna leave from here?
I thought I would retire fromthere.
I thought that was gonna bewhere I I never thought I was
leaving either.
I never it was kind of weird howit happened for me, too.
SPEAKER_03 (22:36):
And you know what?
So let me tell a funny side notestory.
I just had such a flashback oftalking to you in that lobby.
You had on the cutest, you hadin the 12-stone t-shirt and your
cute jeans and your littletennis shoes, but you on the
cutest gray blazer.
And I remember obsessing over itso much that I texted you and I
was like, where did you get it?
I have to have it because I haveto do this outfit at school.
(22:57):
And I did, and you sent me thelink and I copied you.
Vivid flashback when we justdid, did we get it at JC Penny?
SPEAKER_05 (23:06):
We did, we did it.
SPEAKER_04 (23:08):
JC Penny was my go-to for a hot minute because
I'm tall and they had a longarm.
That is so funny when you weretalking about that.
SPEAKER_03 (23:15):
I had just like vivid, I was like, oh my gosh,
this is such a fun memory forme.
SPEAKER_04 (23:19):
My um one of my favorite things to like give
advice like to people who areworking a job is like dress for
the job you want, not the jobyou have.
And I always thought that thatblazer made me feel so official.
SPEAKER_03 (23:31):
It was so cute.
I copied it in the blazer.
SPEAKER_00 (23:34):
The blazer you have the blazer tag with my name
badge.
SPEAKER_03 (23:37):
Walkie talkie.
Yeah.
That was so cute.
I totally redid that outfit, butwith a school t-shirt, not a
church.
SPEAKER_04 (23:43):
But hey, anyway, I just throw some sneakers on with
it.
I did.
That's my girl.
Um, so yeah, I just I knew in myspirit like it was just time for
me to go.
And it made no sense.
And what's really weird is therewas another pastor that was like
supposed to come in and be thenext like senior pastor of the
whole church.
And I jokingly said to a friendof mine, like, if he can leave,
if he would just leave, then Iwouldn't feel so bad about
(24:05):
leaving.
And then like months later, likeweeks later, he left.
And I was like, oh God, now Ihave to go.
Um, but that was that was justthe beginning of um really
finding where I am now.
SPEAKER_00 (24:17):
Yeah, because I remember like uh the stupid
amount of coffee that we drankfrom that Starbucks.
Yeah.
Um, I mean, it was just it'sinsane.
Like, I they didn't even ask myorder anymore.
When I would go up, they wouldjust hand it to me.
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
You were already a coffee guy before you worked in
that building.
SPEAKER_00 (24:34):
Yeah, it was just it was not good.
Coffee pastors is like liquor.
SPEAKER_04 (24:38):
It was good, we just drink it and keep drinking it.
And that's like all day long.
SPEAKER_03 (24:43):
Imagine Michael having a Starbucks or whatever
the case may be of your favoritecoffee shop in the lobby of the
church.
SPEAKER_01 (24:50):
Yeah, you walk down and you every meeting you had, I
would have a standing mournerorder every morning.
Every day.
I would just walk in and gostraight there.
SPEAKER_03 (24:56):
And on the Sundays when I made it to Central Campus
with all four kids, they knewwhat I wanted, but I mean it was
like 50-50 shot.
SPEAKER_00 (25:04):
I never went on Sundays because it was just
nuts.
Yeah.
It was nuts on Sundays.
SPEAKER_04 (25:08):
My Sundays were 15 hours.
I would get there at seven andleave by eight, nine, ten.
It was like it was a long, longtime.
It was a lot.
Yeah.
And it was a lot on y'all.
It was a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (25:19):
Well, there was a lot.
There was so much happening atthe time because when you we
were there, my job was when Iwas brought on, was when we
expanded from four to eightcampuses, was to initiate all of
the small groups and all the uhmake sure everybody was on the
same page from that point, whichmeant we worked all the time.
Um, you just had to.
SPEAKER_04 (25:36):
You just could there wasn't enough time.
Do you remember the time Iopened my big mouth at all staff
and said part-time is all thetime, full time and full time is
all the time.
Do you remember when I said thatout loud?
And the senior pastor.
In front of how many hundredpeople?
Oh, it was like 225 people onstaff and the senior pastor.
And he said something aboutministry or something in me and
my smart mouth.
I was like, Oh yeah, well,part-time's full time, and full
time's all the time.
(25:57):
And he got in his feelings aboutthat.
Oh yes.
And I was like, Whoops.
SPEAKER_00 (26:04):
Yeah, because at the time there were, I think there
was around 250 to 300 people onstaff, like in the room at the
time.
There was a lot of people.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (26:13):
But I loved my I loved what I did there.
Um, but I knew that it was time.
And I I came, I ended up leadinga trip to Kenya, Africa, with um
nine college girls.
And while I was there, I waslike, Lord, like let the um time
that we're here, will you let usserve the women really, really
well?
And then make what's next for mereally, really clear.
Don't pray that if you mayready.
SPEAKER_03 (26:34):
Oh my.
SPEAKER_04 (26:35):
Do not.
Like literally, it is thatchanged everything for me.
And so then I came back and Iwas so convicted by taking, I
don't know why this is theweirdest thing that convicted
me, but like I was taking thesalary from people's tithe money
and I was checked out.
SPEAKER_05 (26:51):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (26:51):
But I was, I was not, I did not want to, I was
like Googling how to help kidsin foster care.
I wasn't even thinking aboutstarting a nonprofit.
I was like, kids in foster care.
I remember Googling stuff likethat.
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
I remember you you brought up like in one of the
times we because we wouldsometimes congregate in our in
my office or in one of the breakrooms or something, and you
started talking about wanting tohelp foster kids, and I was
like, oh, okay.
And then you brought up the ideaof jambos, and I was like, what?
Okay.
Well, that's very it just feltvery different from what you had
been doing in the Rebecca that Iknew at the time.
SPEAKER_04 (27:24):
So where did that bridge happen?
Honestly, I have no idea.
It's all a blur.
I'll be really real with you.
Like, I I knew I know I have aheart for people, and I know I
have a business mind.
And those two things together iswhat makes a nonprofit ministry
work.
Um because they have to like sitin tandem.
So like if if you're only heavyheart, then you're not thinking
(27:45):
about your annual budget andyour HR compliance and your 990
and all this, right?
And your marketing strategy, andyou're not thinking about that.
If you're heavy corporate, youwill get soak deep into those
things I just named and forgetthat the reason why you're doing
what you're doing.
So they have to sit just perfectin order to get the secret
sauce.
And so I'm grateful for thatgifting because I think that
(28:06):
that's what has gotten us towhere we are, because I can sit
and cry with you and talk to youand empathize and pray over you,
but then five minutes later I'mtalking to you about a content
calendar and a strategy for ourmarketing campaign.
Like I I don't know, that'sGod's favor.
Because I did not go to collegefor this, I did not get an
education for this, I have no Iliterally don't know where this
(28:27):
came from.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (28:29):
Which is super cool.
SPEAKER_04 (28:30):
Right.
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00 (28:31):
Yeah, it's it's so what is so in essence you shared
a little bit in the in thebeginning of Jambo's, but like
give us the like one, where'sthe where did the name come
from?
What does it mean?
SPEAKER_03 (28:43):
I was gonna say please don't forget until it's a
good idea.
SPEAKER_00 (28:48):
How to how to start?
Like just tell me to and holdon, where are we out of time?
unknown (28:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:53):
Okay.
So we may have to uh we may haveto do a two-part and get to the
to the to the gives, but let'skeep going in this.
SPEAKER_04 (29:00):
Okay, you guys chop it up however you want to chop
it up.
Okay.
Take out whatever.
Um, okay, so we're not takinganything out.
Okay, I'm like, take outwhatever.
Um jambos.
Um, my mom called my pajamasjambos when I was a kid.
Um I thought that's what theywere.
SPEAKER_00 (29:12):
Uh so have you asked her why she did that?
SPEAKER_04 (29:14):
Um, I think it was like a tongue-in-cheek, like
kind of picking on there waslike a nickname of a guy in
school or something.
Like it was like something funnyfrom her past.
That is so funny.
And it was nothing love that.
Yeah.
And so she would always say,like, go put on your jambo
Keatmans.
I don't know why.
I don't even I don't know.
Pajamas had a last name.
Yeah, Jambo.
I guess.
Jambo Keatmans, go put yourjambo Keatmans on.
(29:35):
And um I know.
I'm like, I hope that's the guyshe went to college with or
something.
That's his full government name.
unknown (29:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (29:43):
Um Jambo Keatman.
We don't be losing put yourdammies on.
No, and they don't have a wholename.
My kids now.
My I heard my youngest say JamboKeatmans the other day.
And I was like, oh.
Anyway, so she called ourpajamas jambos.
And then when I spent the timein Africa, I was talking about
Swahili is the language I speakin Kenya, the area of Kenya that
we were in.
And um, they jambo means helloor welcome.
(30:04):
And the story is Is it spelledthe same?
But we have an S on ours, sojambo.
Gotcha.
And then the Americans have tosay jam.
They can't say jam to save theirlives.
So I just went with it.
It's fine.
Go with the flow.
Yeah, go with the flow.
Yay.
Um, so yeah.
But welcome to the south, too.
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (30:21):
Jambos.
Um if I can teach mysix-year-old first graders that
we go with the flow, yeah.
I can tell them we go andthey'll say, with the flow.
That's so cool.
You gotta teach the grown-ups toit, too.
SPEAKER_04 (30:32):
Yeah, they just can't.
And it's fine.
So, yeah, so that's where thename came from.
Um, I knew that I wanted, Iremember hearing my parents like
dream up a idea of having apajama company, and they were
like gonna make and play off ofthe word jam.
So they were gonna put liketraffic jammies and toe jammies
and like make the prints on themlike really cute.
(30:52):
I remember them doing that, andI remember seeing one, my mom
was a stay-at-home mom my wholelife, but that it showed my
mom's creativity and it showedmy mom's kind of business mind.
Right.
And I really kind of gotsomething from that.
I was like, okay, mom, go off,you know?
That's cool.
Um, and so, but that neverreally came to fruition or
whatever.
SPEAKER_03 (31:09):
But she's still shipping in that seat.
SPEAKER_04 (31:12):
I know.
And it was like, I rememberlistening to them, like dream
that up.
And I was like, oh, that's kindof cool.
So there was that kind of alwaysin the back of my head.
They always gave us pajamas atChristmas.
Jamies are like our thing in myfamily.
And so when I went, when I gotback from Kenya, I went to D Fax
and I was like, what do youneed?
Like, I want to help kids infoster care.
I'm a single mom.
I have no business bringing kidsin my house right now.
(31:32):
There doesn't say that singlemoms can't.
I just didn't have any businessdoing that in that season.
And um, they were like,honestly, kids in foster care
need pajamas.
And I was like, bet, I can dothat.
Yeah, like that got it.
So I went to my small group andI said, Um, let's instead of
exchanging candles and bottlesof wine this year, let's all
just collect pajamas and I'lltake them to DVAX.
(31:54):
Like, fun.
And um nine of us collected 223pairs of pajamas.
And I was like, holy crap, thisis gonna work.
Like, this is a thing.
SPEAKER_00 (32:04):
Was that kind of your aha moment when you're just
like, oh, we could this I couldactually do this?
SPEAKER_04 (32:08):
Yeah.
And I had nothing.
I had no website, no brandedcontent, no logo, really no
name.
A friend of mine made a littleflyer.
What my mom let me borrow herrubber made bins.
Like, I was like, I didn't haveanything.
It was I I had$12 in my bankaccount the day I quit my job to
start this.
Oh, wow.
Like that's it.
Not like a savings, no 401k,nothing.
(32:31):
$12.
That was it.
And so I was like, well, I can'tgo buy rubber made bins and I
can even make a business card.
Like I can buy a girl.
Like I can buy some groceries.
Barely could feed my own kids,you know.
And so um, so yeah, I wecollected 223 pair and I took
them to DFACS.
I didn't have any like brandingor mark.
(32:53):
I didn't, it was just, hi, welove you.
Here's some pajamas.
SPEAKER_00 (32:56):
And what was their reaction to that?
SPEAKER_04 (32:58):
Well, they were like thrilled because at that point
there were 843 kids in GwinnettCounty foster system.
Whoa, wow.
And that's a lot of kids.
And I was like, well, I want toserve 843 kids.
Yeah.
And that year we served 5,500kids.
Oh and we put right and we likepush pajamas all the way down
like Fulton County, ForsythCounty, Hall County.
I was pushing like, and I waslike, in my living room, I
(33:20):
pajamas were everywhere.
My kids had to move pajamas toput the Christmas trees up.
Like it was like, my God, getthese pajamas out of here.
You know?
And so um I, I mean, I hadmentors and that sort of thing,
but it was it was literally abunch of people just saying,
I'll do it, I'll do it.
And it was like, okay, so theyhosted jammy drives, and I would
take laundry baskets and tapeour name to the jam to the front
(33:42):
with a piece of paper, and theywould tell their school class
about it.
And they would tell their churchabout it, and they would tell
their gym about it.
And it was like soccer moms andCEOs, and here comes like it's
the craziest thing.
And so 5,500 kids in year one, Iwas like, I should probably like
get a website.
I need to get organized like alittle and like I have no money
(34:04):
for a website, I have no moneyfor any of this.
And God just kept providing it.
And um, people would come intomy life and be like, I'm a web
developer.
Do you need help?
Yeah, sure do.
Like you never ask.
Like what?
And so that type of stuff justkept happening over and over and
over.
And then yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:24):
Okay, so let's where where are we at, Michael?
unknown (34:27):
We are at 35.
SPEAKER_00 (34:29):
Okay, so what this is a great praise for us to just
kind of like, all right, let'sjust pause.
We're gonna, we're gonna take aminute, maybe bathroom break,
whatever it may be, uh, jumpback into part two, because
there's some things I want tojump into that, like I want to
hear the struggles, I want tohear the the stuff of being a
single mom, juggling all that.
(34:49):
I want to hear I want, you know,I want to get I want to get into
all of that a little bit more.
And I feel like if we just keepgoing, we yeah, you know, it
could be a little too long.
So um we're gonna take a break.
Um and join us for part two.
Yeah, we're gonna jump into parttwo.
So uh thank you guys.
Hey guys, what's up?
I'm Greg.
I hope you guys are ready tounpack and get into some good
conversations tonight.
SPEAKER_03 (00:07):
And I'm Jess, and this is our podcast, Baggage
Claim.
Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
What's up, Baggage Claim?
How's everybody doing tonight?
Um, if you're first time here,thank you for joining us.
Uh, if you're a regular, uh,grab your favorite drink, pull
up to the table.
We're gonna jump into some funconversations today.
Uh, this is uh a place where welike to, you know, hopefully
create some community and someconversations around
(00:37):
relationships and life and allthose fun things in between.
And we have a special guest withus tonight, which we're really
excited about.
Um would you like to introduceit?
SPEAKER_03 (00:47):
You're about to introduce.
No, that's your job.
Our special guest this eveningis none other than Rebecca
Black.
That's me.
She's known around these parts,she's pretty famous.
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_04 (00:59):
Yeah.
Autographs after the after theshow.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (01:03):
We've been friends with her for a long time now.
And there is so much to cover,and we're so excited to have you
here.
Thank you.
I'm excited.
Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:11):
Yeah.
So Rebecca has a very, veryinteresting life of of does some
really cool things that I thinkuh some of you guys, uh it's
just crazy how even I had somefriends that I had known and was
like, hey, we were talking aboutyour your company, and they're
like, Oh, yeah, we know exactlywho that is.
And I was like, Yeah, it's socool.
It's just a small world, butreally cool, small world.
SPEAKER_03 (01:32):
And I'm gonna just throw a disclaimer out because
Greg and Rebecca are a lotalike.
They they can talk paint offwalls, and I mean that in a good
way.
It's a gift.
SPEAKER_05 (01:42):
It is gift.
SPEAKER_03 (01:43):
And if you've been listening to Baggers Claim, I
that's not my strength.
If if there if I have questionsor people are asking me things,
or I have um outline on mynotebook, which there's nothing.
I have seven words written down.
You saw that.
Yeah, it's not okay.
SPEAKER_04 (01:59):
I was like, okay, she she doesn't have my
questions here, and I don't likeit like that.
SPEAKER_03 (02:02):
That's not okay.
SPEAKER_04 (02:03):
I don't need any questions.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (02:05):
Skip me the day.
Um so it'll be probably a lot ofyou two talking, and I'm just
gonna enjoy it, and I will justtry to jump in when I can.
But usually before we jump in,we have something that we call
question time.
SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
Question time.
Nailed question time.
She nailed it.
Question time.
SPEAKER_03 (02:24):
I didn't feel comfortable singing today.
SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
Why?
You're embarrassed becauseRebecca thinks she can sing
better than you.
SPEAKER_03 (02:30):
Sang in voice covered.
SPEAKER_00 (02:31):
She was being in some Destiny Child earlier.
SPEAKER_03 (02:33):
I was.
You were.
SPEAKER_00 (02:34):
I'll bring it back.
SPEAKER_03 (02:35):
Okay.
So have is Christmas.
Would you rather?
unknown (02:38):
Ooh.
SPEAKER_03 (02:39):
Some of our questions have been literally
ridiculous, like would yourather your ears flap every time
you sneeze or whatever?
Like it's just been literallyridiculous.
These are kind of easy.
Would you rather meet Santa ormeet the Grinch?
SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Ooh.
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Oh gosh.
I'm gonna pick Santa.
SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
Is this pre or post like the Grinch story Grinch?
I'm talking about the Grinch,the one that's universal.
SPEAKER_00 (03:03):
Studios, the real Grinch that lives there.
No, the guy that's the guythat's a universal is hilarious.
SPEAKER_03 (03:12):
He is hilarious.
SPEAKER_00 (03:12):
Yeah, that guy's fun.
SPEAKER_03 (03:13):
I found him on YouTube, that guy, reading how
the Grinch stole Christmas, andme and the kids watched it.
They sitting by our fireplace,it's Max the dog, it's a whole
thing.
And we have more fun.
I feel like I've never met him.
We see Santa all the time,right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:26):
He's just a fat, jolly old fella.
He just eats a lot.
SPEAKER_03 (03:29):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (03:29):
You know?
SPEAKER_03 (03:30):
Would you rather be one of Santa's elves or one of
his reindeer?
Oh, reindeer.
SPEAKER_04 (03:35):
Let me drive, baby.
Let's go.
Really?
Yeah.
The elves all they do is work.
SPEAKER_01 (03:40):
They love their work.
Like they have such a good timeworking.
SPEAKER_04 (03:43):
But I'm just saying.
SPEAKER_01 (03:44):
I feel like an elf is just, yeah, you are fitting.
SPEAKER_04 (03:54):
I can't do it.
No.
Put me to work.
Put me on the on the elf.
SPEAKER_00 (03:58):
It would just be like a warehouse job.
Like you're just doing stuff.
SPEAKER_04 (04:02):
I want to be a reindeer so I can fly.
Yeah.
And you get to go to all theplaces.
Elves have to stay the wholewarehouse.
You work what?
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
One whole day?
One evening.
I know.
I want to be Rudolph.
SPEAKER_04 (04:13):
Yeah.
If you were to be a reindeer,which name do you like?
Ooh.
Blitzen.
Prancer.
Ooh.
Ooh, Prancer.
SPEAKER_00 (04:20):
I was thinking, um, I don't I don't even know if
he's a boy or trying to figureout which one is out of the
reindeer's.
Comet and Cupid and Donner andBlitzen.
SPEAKER_03 (04:31):
Dasher.
Dasher.
SPEAKER_00 (04:32):
I think it's Dasher.
Prancer.
I think Dasher, just because itsounds like a cool name.
SPEAKER_04 (04:37):
That's a fast dude.
SPEAKER_00 (04:38):
Yeah, but Rudolph had his own song.
SPEAKER_04 (04:40):
And a glowing nose.
And a glowing note.
Yeah, but it's okay.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Yeah, it's just like, hey, look at me.
You're peacocking over there.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (04:46):
Yeah.
Okay.
There's one more.
Okay.
This is it.
It's a big one.
Would you rather ride the polar?
Would you rather ride the PolarExpress or Santa Slay?
SPEAKER_04 (04:58):
Ooh.
Listen.
That's easy.
Polar Express.
SPEAKER_00 (05:03):
Santa Slay.
Santa Slay.
Polar Express.
Polar Express is.
Did you watch the movie?
Did you see where they're doingthe roller coaster?
Can I tell you honest truth?
SPEAKER_04 (05:11):
Why would that be?
I don't like it when animation,when they make the humans too
real.
I don't like his faces arecreepy.
One minute you're an animationand the next minute you're Tom
Hanks, and I don't like that.
SPEAKER_00 (05:22):
Yeah, it was weird.
That show is a little weird.
SPEAKER_03 (05:25):
Because if you ride the Polar Express, if you've
seen the movie, you are going togo meet Santa.
You're going to the North Pole.
unknown (05:31):
Oh.
SPEAKER_04 (05:32):
But if you are on the Santa Slay, you're like on
his lap.
SPEAKER_00 (05:36):
It feels like it's gonna be either on his lap or in
the bag.
It feels like it's gonna be avery uncomfortable ride.
Wow, moment of silence, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
Polar Express, the icing.
Oh, the icing.
Yes, that would be terrifying.
But really, it's like near-deathexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (06:00):
It's adrenaline adrenaline.
SPEAKER_03 (06:01):
Yeah, adrenaline.
SPEAKER_04 (06:03):
I can also say that I personally can't keep up with
anything.
So that stupid ticket floatingthrough the air is this story of
it.
SPEAKER_03 (06:09):
It's a lot of pressure.
SPEAKER_04 (06:10):
I can't even my debit card, where's my driver's
license?
I never and that is real to me.
SPEAKER_03 (06:16):
So to do the hot chocolate situation in real
life.
The hot, hot, hot, hotchocolate.
SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
I mean, yeah, but don't you think Santa has hot
chocolate on the sleigh?
And it's probably a lot betterthan the case.
SPEAKER_03 (06:32):
Yeah, he has hot chocolate.
I was watching that today.
SPEAKER_04 (06:35):
I was actually watching it today putting up my
Christmas tree.
Right.
That movie was on.
I I like cookies.
I'm trying to eat all themcookies.
So you go ahead, big guy, getyour Santa Slay.
I'll go down the chimney, I'llbe here with the cookies.
Yes, put me on the list.
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Yes, I did.
You make a cookie box list?
SPEAKER_03 (06:53):
She sure does.
She didn't last year because itwas a newborn baby, but yes, she
does.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
I volunteer is true.
Are they like are like they liketalent your cookie box list?
SPEAKER_03 (07:02):
They're bigger.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is there a peanut butter blossominvolved?
There's a peanut buttersituation.
SPEAKER_00 (07:08):
Oh, is that what you call it?
A blossom?
A peanut butter blossom.
Okay, that's her cutie name.
SPEAKER_04 (07:13):
I think the peanut butter cookie with the Hershey
kiss.
New name.
Peanut butter blossom.
That's not what you all call it.
No, no, we just always call itKentucky State.
SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
Peanut butter cookies.
That is Kentucky thing.
SPEAKER_04 (07:24):
Peanut butter blossom.
We're so bougie in Kentucky.
Yeah, that is a peanut thing.
But I was thinking.
I am.
I grew up in eastern Kentucky,near Lexington.
Really?
Yeah.
At Moorhead State University?
No.
Oh shoot.
We were so close.
I know that school.
Really?
I do.
But I grew up in Moorhead,Kentucky.
(07:44):
Save all your jokes for later.
SPEAKER_00 (07:46):
Okay.
SPEAKER_04 (07:46):
Yeah.
One more drink of bourbon andwe'll go there.
SPEAKER_00 (07:50):
We'll get up in the Okay.
So we're not going to do like aan official read of a bio.
So I want to tell tell thelisteners a little bit about
yourself.
SPEAKER_04 (08:00):
Okay.
I'm an Aquarius.
I like walking walks on thebeach.
I'm just starting.
SPEAKER_00 (08:05):
Beautiful.
SPEAKER_03 (08:07):
I'm literally one of the funniest people I've known
in my life.
Wow.
And I think that every I thinkthat every time we actually get
to talk, like you're just so funto talk to.
Anyway, I'm hijacking you.
SPEAKER_04 (08:20):
I'm sorry.
No, it's fine.
I'm Rebecca.
I am a mom.
I have three daughters, um,Audrey, Jet, and Reagan.
Um, we have a lot of feelings atmy house.
Everyone's like, oh, you havethree daughters, that's so
dramatic.
But no, we're not reallydramatic.
We just feel a lot.
Right.
So we might cry over a burritoor a boy.
You just don't know.
We don't know.
Like, there's no cheese on this.
Just according to what you dowith it.
Right.
(08:41):
Um Audrey is 18, Jet is 14,Reagan's 13.
So all teenage girls.
No, we just love it over here.
SPEAKER_00 (08:47):
You are up in the feelings.
SPEAKER_04 (08:48):
I am in my feelings, all of us.
SPEAKER_03 (08:50):
So um, we have four teenagers at a time, but two of
them were boys, so it wasn'tanything like what you have.
SPEAKER_04 (08:57):
My brother has three boys and I have three girls, and
we all went on vacation a fewyears back, and his boys like
jumped into the pool with a hotdog in their hand and was like,
and then my girls were like, ifwe could just put a little
glitter on my collarbone rightthere.
I'm like, oh my god.
Like, yep, get in the pool, youknow.
So our worlds were verydifferent but similar.
Um, we're crying over, you know,sand in our socks, and they're,
(09:20):
you know, chowing down oncheeseburgers.
It's it's just interesting.
Anyway, so I have threedaughters.
I'm a mom, I'm an entrepreneur.
I started a nonprofit sevenyears ago.
It's called Jambo's.
We provide new pajamas to kidsexperiencing the foster care
system.
Um, and that has been kind of myfourth child, I guess you could
say.
Oh yeah.
Um, and um huge baseball fan.
(09:40):
Uh, love sports.
Um I love like indie weirdhippie music.
I am this like closet hippie.
It's kind of interesting.
Yeah.
I usually like find songs.
I'm like, this is gonna be aviral song, and then it ends up
happening, and I'm like, ah,that was mine.
Um yeah, that's kind of mything.
Um, what else?
I mean, when you're a single momand you're an entrepreneur,
(10:02):
that's like your personalitytrait.
So I've lost like all thingsthat I love because it's like
I'm just out here grinding.
Yeah.
Um, but yeah, uh, my family kindof lives close.
My mom and dad live here, andthey're my huge like support
system.
They help me with my girls andam I not close enough?
SPEAKER_02 (10:18):
Sorry.
Sorry, everyone.
SPEAKER_04 (10:20):
Um I'm gonna have the microphone closer than
friends who are not watching.
I just need to hold this veryclose.
Um, but yeah, so that's a littlebit about me.
SPEAKER_00 (10:29):
Um so was Jambos your very first thing you've
ever started?
Or is it your first firstcompany?
Or did you that yeah, okay?
SPEAKER_04 (10:34):
Yeah.
Um, I've always had like thisentrepreneurial spirit.
When I was a little girl, I wasthe one making the lemonade
stand.
I sold the friendship bracelets.
I wanted to like figure out howto, you know, buy it for a
quarter and sell it for a dollarat school.
Like I was that girl.
Um, but I never really I didn'tknow what that was.
I just knew I was good at it,right?
So I was like, oh, that'sinteresting.
But like we would make like 50and 60 bucks on a lemonade stand
(10:57):
in my grandmother's front yard.
Like a wisey.
Like, how's this happening?
My mom and I would host a yardsale.
I give my mom the credit forthat though, but we would make
like$1,200,$1,300 at a yardsale.
Oh, wow.
It's like, mom, how did we dothis?
And she's like, I don't know,but let's go shopping.
So um, but yeah, so it's alwayskind of been in me, but I always
worked for the man.
Like I did sales and marketingin the wireless industry for a
(11:20):
long time.
And then um, I've always knownthere was a call in my life to
do ministry.
I just didn't know I had neverreally seen women doing
ministry, if I'm honest.
I grew up in a small church ineastern Kentucky, and most of
the women that I was engagingwith in ministry were Sunday
school teachers or volunteers.
It was never like from behindthe pulpit, women are up here
(11:42):
reading like that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:43):
Um yeah, because you and I met at 12 stone.
So how did you, I mean, how didyou end up at 12 stone?
SPEAKER_03 (11:49):
12 Stone is a large church.
SPEAKER_00 (11:51):
Yeah, sorry, it's uh uh in uh Launchville, it was a
plant.
It was a church start, actually.
Near the Atlanta area inGeorgia, it's North Atlanta.
Uh and it's pretty large.
SPEAKER_03 (12:01):
Yeah, we have to keep in mind we have people
listening literally all over theworld.
Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (12:06):
Hi, hi everyone.
Yeah, we're all over the world.
Um no, so we met.
Um, I went on staff.
It was at that point one of thefastest growing churches in the
country.
Yeah, it was like listed as Imean, it was a big old church.
SPEAKER_00 (12:17):
Yeah, when we were there, I think we would have, I
think it was around 24 to 25,000people on a Sunday.
SPEAKER_04 (12:23):
On a weekend, yeah.
And um, I had no idea what I wasdoing.
I knew I was in sales.
Okay, let me back you up alittle bit.
I worked in, I lived in Tacoma,Washington, and I sold cell
phones for sprint.
And I could sell a phone to adead man.
If you even looked like youwanted to ever talk on a phone,
I was giving you two of them.
It was the craziest thing.
Like I would I would convincepeople that they needed multiple
(12:44):
phones.
Like, why?
She's like, she's 12, you know.
I'm like, okay, you need twophones and you get one for free.
You need a phone, you need one,and I'll get the fucking patron
fee.
Like, that was how you're doingit.
So everybody was getting aphone.
And I was making six figures aslike a 21-year-old kid.
Like, it was crazy.
My dad filed my taxes with meone year, and he was like, Do
(13:05):
you know you want a trip toHawaii and made over a hundred
grand last year selling cellphones in a retail store?
Like, and I was on like 53rdStreet, like I was in a hard
part of town.
Like I was I would sell a phoneto a dead person.
Anyway, fast forward, I wasmaking a ton of money, had the
shoes, had the car, had thehaircut, had the purse, had it
all.
And I hated it.
I hated my life.
I was like, this is so likeunfulfilling.
SPEAKER_05 (13:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (13:26):
Um, and I knew from a young age that there was a
call in my life to serve kids inlike the orphan care, foster
care space because I had workedin an orphanage in Jamaica,
which take a mission trip toJamaica sounds really hard.
That sounds like a really those,Greg.
It's like, okay, you went toMontego Bay for a mission trip.
That sounds all right.
It's like, but it it really wasuh an infant rescue center, and
(13:48):
then we worked in a teen girls'home and I just had such a
heartbeat for it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
How old are you?
SPEAKER_04 (13:52):
And I was 14, 15 years old.
And um, so I just kind offroliced through my 20s and da
da da.
And then I came to this likerealization that like I needed
to surrender all of that.
It was like the Lord was likedoing a work in me.
I had I was a single mom.
I'm like, what is going on?
And um I took like a$75,000 paycut and went to work part-time
(14:13):
at a church.
SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
Now, was there was there anything that brought that
on?
Like I'm just curious, right?
SPEAKER_04 (14:18):
Was there some kind of event that made you kind of
stop and well um fun fact aboutRebecca's testimony is I've been
married twice.
So I was married um to themilitary.
My ex-husband, my firstex-husband was in the military.
And so I had Audrey, my oldestdaughter, and um that all
dissolved after he came backfrom I think it was his third
tour in Iraq.
(14:39):
And um he came home and therewas just a lot of this, I guess
dysfunction is a nice way ofputting it, but it just was
doomed from the beginning.
And honestly, there arecomponents of it now where I'm
like thankful, like the Lord hasjust shown me like that.
I I almost don't remember it.
Like it's like there's a seasonof that that it's either trauma
or God's healing.
(14:59):
I don't know.
But it's like, okay, I that partof my life just feels so
removed.
I mean, it's 25 years ago, soright.
Anyways, fast forward, that hadall dissolved.
My life was just kind of at rockbottom, and I was like, what am
I doing?
You know?
And so I came back to Atlanta,lived with my family.
Audrey and I were with my momand dad, and I was like, I'm
gonna, I'm just gonna startapplying for jobs.
I worked at a I went intowireless again, just kind of
(15:22):
transferred things around.
And then it was like a momentwhere God like said to me, stop
running.
Like start chasing after what Icalled you to.
Don't forget, I you're notdisqualified.
Go chase after what I called youto.
And so I thought I was doing theright thing by going into
ministry, full-time local churchministry.
And that really opened a lot ofdoors for me, and it really
(15:43):
right-sized a lot of things forme.
So I was on staff there, andthen um and that was just a time
where I like really recenteredmy call um to serve people.
SPEAKER_00 (15:54):
When you said it kind of right-sized some things
for you, like what uh give me anexample of a couple examples.
SPEAKER_04 (15:58):
In that season, I was very like driven by
performance.
I was very driven by money.
It was like I have to make X, Y,and Z dollars.
I need this type of car, thistype of shoes, this type of I
was just I I was prettyimmature.
I guess is I don't want to saythat people that think like that
are immature, but I wasimmature.
Right.
And um and then when I got areal understanding of
(16:19):
fulfillment and purpose andcalling and what God is going to
do through me, um, that was thestuff that became the priority.
SPEAKER_05 (16:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (16:26):
So um, so yeah, that was just really right-sized for
me and very quickly.
Like that's the thing about thisrelationship I have with the
Lord.
He's like, when we move, wemove.
Yeah, like we do it.
Yeah.
So nice.
All right.
SPEAKER_03 (16:39):
Look at me picking up my mic staying.
SPEAKER_04 (16:41):
You gotta stay real close to a girlfriend.
Sitting back and hear me drinkthis bourbon through this
microphone.
SPEAKER_00 (16:47):
So when you say you you felt like a calling when you
were 14, like can you can weunpack that a little bit?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (16:54):
Like I'm really curious.
So it's taken me till now to beable to put words around what
that felt like for me.
I'm amongst people.
There was a group of us,probably 25 of us on this trip
from my church.
And my my mom, my dad, mybrother, myself, and then my
sister, she didn't go, but thethe four of us were there.
And I felt um off balancebecause and now I can explain it
(17:18):
like this a lot of the people wewere with had heartbreak
mentality, and I had heartbeatmentality.
And they're different, in myopinion.
Right.
When your heart's breaking forsomething, you can feel very
like paralyzed or sad, orthere's nothing I can do.
I feel so bad.
Like, and but when you haveheartbeat mentality, I'm ready
to run, chase, activate.
(17:39):
Well, how do we make thisbetter?
What can I do?
Where are my gifts?
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (17:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (17:43):
And so I've and like we use that language now at
Jambo.
So like our hearts are beatingfor the kids we're serving.
Um and so I but I was like, whyam I not crying?
Like why everybody around me isso emotional.
And I'm like, what can we do?
How I was activated, right?
Not paralyzed or or down by, youknow, their circumstances were
obviously heart-wrenching, likeyou feel, right?
SPEAKER_03 (18:04):
Instead of a sadness, it was more it almost
makes me feel like you had anempowerment of what you can do.
Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (18:13):
And so I came home and I'm like, I'm gonna be a
missionary, I'm running, I'mgonna move to Africa.
Like I made up, my parents werelike, Yeah, girl, go get it.
Um, but you know, thanks, mom.
Um, but I did, I never felt umdef like defeat, like I couldn't
do anything.
And like, not to say that likemy mom's perspective of that,
she was really, really hurt.
Like being in the atmospherethat circum those circumstances,
(18:35):
she's just like, oh my gosh,this is so sad.
And I saw it as that, right?
But I had I knew that the thatthis was not just a mission trip
high, as they call it, or likethis emotional moment.
It was like, no, I'm supposed todo something about that.
SPEAKER_03 (18:49):
It was more like a kickoff rather than a this is
just like a a trip.
SPEAKER_04 (18:53):
Right.
Yeah, it didn't end there forme, it began there for me.
I think.
SPEAKER_00 (18:57):
Oh wow, yeah.
That is cool.
All right, so you're at 12stone.
Yeah, you've kind of hit you'reyou're just applying for jobs,
and you wind up at 12 stone witha job.
SPEAKER_04 (19:06):
Yeah, and I was in the wrong seat, but I was on the
right bus.
And I was like, okay, we're onthe I'm on the right bus.
I just don't belong in thisdepartment.
Um, and there were just so manythings like that um I learned
and I didn't really know.
I was always like saying tomyself, like, I don't want to
marry, Barry, or baptize any ofthe people in this building.
Like I'm not, I'm notshepherding people, like I'm not
(19:27):
out here like what but my job, Ioversaw all these volunteers and
there were thousands ofvolunteers.
Um I also helped people likeassimilate into the church.
You're new here, let's get yousettled in.
Like, how does it become yourchurch family?
Where where can you get pluggedin?
That was like my whole job.
And I was like cut for that.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
SPEAKER_03 (19:48):
Like as far as like your job, Greg, and your job,
Rebecca, how did y'all becausethat's where y'all's friendship
began.
Our friendship began.
SPEAKER_00 (19:56):
Because uh my job was over.
Small groups.
But also to somehow, some way,um everything in the building
that happened from greeting toushers fell under my title
somehow, some way.
I don't know how.
SPEAKER_04 (20:13):
Uh-huh.
It was it was like adultministry, but like um people
would come into the church andthen I would get them on the
train and then he would helpthem take the ride.
SPEAKER_00 (20:23):
Gotcha.
So it was That's a great way todo it.
So as soon as Rebecca walkedinto the room, we're like, I
remember having thoseconversations with some of the
other guys going, oh, we knowexactly where Rebecca needs to
be.
Like the best place for her isbe in the front lobby.
SPEAKER_04 (20:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:36):
Um and it was, yeah, it's like you were made for
that.
It was an easy, easy fit foryou.
SPEAKER_04 (20:40):
I would agree.
It was and it was fun and Iloved it.
And then I started to feel likeI was loving it more than I
should.
SPEAKER_00 (20:47):
Okay, so tell me about that.
SPEAKER_04 (20:50):
I started really like, of course, your senior
pastors up there speaking, andyou've got the funny
announcement guy that everybodyloves and whatever, but
everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Which I ran into really on the square.
I walked into him and I waslike, Travis.
And he's like, What's up, buddy?
SPEAKER_03 (21:04):
Halloween.
Well, we're up there with no thelighting of the chicken.
Lighting of the chicken.
I go, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (21:09):
It's such a gazebo thing, but they were lighting a
chicken.
He was on a date with his wife.
SPEAKER_04 (21:14):
But uh yeah, I hadn't seen him in forever.
Yeah, so there, those guys werekind of the faces of the inside
the worship hall or worshipcenter room.
Like obviously your seniorpastor, like he's the founder,
everybody knows him, he's theteaching pastor, like you know
him.
But then like Travis was the guyon stage that everybody was
like, he's the funnyannouncement guy.
But then when you came out ofthere, I was like on this on
(21:35):
this huge bridge.
I had thousands of volunteers,people were reporting, quote
quote to me.
It was like I kind of became theface of that lobby.
Yeah.
And I was and I I was proud ofthat.
I love the job.
I love the ministry we weredoing.
It was like you know, it waslike my gifting.
I was in my wheelhouse.
Yeah, you know.
So but I started feeling like Iwas kind of idolizing it.
(22:00):
I was like, oh, well, why am Iso proud of this?
This is and things startedbecoming mine.
And I and where I do loveownership and I want to do my
job well, it was like, hang on aminute.
I started feeling a littleconvicted about the fact that I
was like obsessing, maybe alittle bit about it.
Um so I started the like try tounpack or get unsettled in my
(22:25):
soul, like, wait a second, am Igonna leave from here?
I thought I would retire fromthere.
I thought that was gonna bewhere I I never thought I was
leaving either.
I never it was kind of weird howit happened for me, too.
SPEAKER_03 (22:36):
And you know what?
So let me tell a funny side notestory.
I just had such a flashback oftalking to you in that lobby.
You had on the cutest, you hadin the 12-stone t-shirt and your
cute jeans and your littletennis shoes, but you on the
cutest gray blazer.
And I remember obsessing over itso much that I texted you and I
was like, where did you get it?
I have to have it because I haveto do this outfit at school.
(22:57):
And I did, and you sent me thelink and I copied you.
Vivid flashback when we justdid, did we get it at JC Penny?
SPEAKER_05 (23:06):
We did, we did it.
SPEAKER_04 (23:08):
JC Penny was my go-to for a hot minute because
I'm tall and they had a longarm.
That is so funny when you weretalking about that.
SPEAKER_03 (23:15):
I had just like vivid, I was like, oh my gosh,
this is such a fun memory forme.
SPEAKER_04 (23:19):
My um one of my favorite things to like give
advice like to people who areworking a job is like dress for
the job you want, not the jobyou have.
And I always thought that thatblazer made me feel so official.
SPEAKER_03 (23:31):
It was so cute.
I copied it in the blazer.
SPEAKER_00 (23:34):
The blazer you have the blazer tag with my name
badge.
SPEAKER_03 (23:37):
Walkie talkie.
Yeah.
That was so cute.
I totally redid that outfit, butwith a school t-shirt, not a
church.
SPEAKER_04 (23:43):
But hey, anyway, I just throw some sneakers on with
it.
I did.
That's my girl.
Um, so yeah, I just I knew in myspirit like it was just time for
me to go.
And it made no sense.
And what's really weird is therewas another pastor that was like
supposed to come in and be thenext like senior pastor of the
whole church.
And I jokingly said to a friendof mine, like, if he can leave,
if he would just leave, then Iwouldn't feel so bad about
(24:05):
leaving.
And then like months later, likeweeks later, he left.
And I was like, oh God, now Ihave to go.
Um, but that was that was justthe beginning of um really
finding where I am now.
SPEAKER_00 (24:17):
Yeah, because I remember like uh the stupid
amount of coffee that we drankfrom that Starbucks.
Yeah.
Um, I mean, it was just it'sinsane.
Like, I they didn't even ask myorder anymore.
When I would go up, they wouldjust hand it to me.
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
You were already a coffee guy before you worked in
that building.
SPEAKER_00 (24:34):
Yeah, it was just it was not good.
Coffee pastors is like liquor.
SPEAKER_04 (24:38):
It was good, we just drink it and keep drinking it.
And that's like all day long.
SPEAKER_03 (24:43):
Imagine Michael having a Starbucks or whatever
the case may be of your favoritecoffee shop in the lobby of the
church.
SPEAKER_01 (24:50):
Yeah, you walk down and you every meeting you had, I
would have a standing mournerorder every morning.
Every day.
I would just walk in and gostraight there.
SPEAKER_03 (24:56):
And on the Sundays when I made it to Central Campus
with all four kids, they knewwhat I wanted, but I mean it was
like 50-50 shot.
SPEAKER_00 (25:04):
I never went on Sundays because it was just
nuts.
Yeah.
It was nuts on Sundays.
SPEAKER_04 (25:08):
My Sundays were 15 hours.
I would get there at seven andleave by eight, nine, ten.
It was like it was a long, longtime.
It was a lot.
Yeah.
And it was a lot on y'all.
It was a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (25:19):
Well, there was a lot.
There was so much happening atthe time because when you we
were there, my job was when Iwas brought on, was when we
expanded from four to eightcampuses, was to initiate all of
the small groups and all the uhmake sure everybody was on the
same page from that point, whichmeant we worked all the time.
Um, you just had to.
SPEAKER_04 (25:36):
You just could there wasn't enough time.
Do you remember the time Iopened my big mouth at all staff
and said part-time is all thetime, full time and full time is
all the time.
Do you remember when I said thatout loud?
And the senior pastor.
In front of how many hundredpeople?
Oh, it was like 225 people onstaff and the senior pastor.
And he said something aboutministry or something in me and
my smart mouth.
I was like, Oh yeah, well,part-time's full time, and full
time's all the time.
(25:57):
And he got in his feelings aboutthat.
Oh yes.
And I was like, Whoops.
SPEAKER_00 (26:04):
Yeah, because at the time there were, I think there
was around 250 to 300 people onstaff, like in the room at the
time.
There was a lot of people.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (26:13):
But I loved my I loved what I did there.
Um, but I knew that it was time.
And I I came, I ended up leadinga trip to Kenya, Africa, with um
nine college girls.
And while I was there, I waslike, Lord, like let the um time
that we're here, will you let usserve the women really, really
well?
And then make what's next for mereally, really clear.
Don't pray that if you mayready.
SPEAKER_03 (26:34):
Oh my.
SPEAKER_04 (26:35):
Do not.
Like literally, it is thatchanged everything for me.
And so then I came back and Iwas so convicted by taking, I
don't know why this is theweirdest thing that convicted
me, but like I was taking thesalary from people's tithe money
and I was checked out.
SPEAKER_05 (26:51):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (26:51):
But I was, I was not, I did not want to, I was
like Googling how to help kidsin foster care.
I wasn't even thinking aboutstarting a nonprofit.
I was like, kids in foster care.
I remember Googling stuff likethat.
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
I remember you you brought up like in one of the
times we because we wouldsometimes congregate in our in
my office or in one of the breakrooms or something, and you
started talking about wanting tohelp foster kids, and I was
like, oh, okay.
And then you brought up the ideaof jambos, and I was like, what?
Okay.
Well, that's very it just feltvery different from what you had
been doing in the Rebecca that Iknew at the time.
SPEAKER_04 (27:24):
So where did that bridge happen?
Honestly, I have no idea.
It's all a blur.
I'll be really real with you.
Like, I I knew I know I have aheart for people, and I know I
have a business mind.
And those two things together iswhat makes a nonprofit ministry
work.
Um because they have to like sitin tandem.
So like if if you're only heavyheart, then you're not thinking
(27:45):
about your annual budget andyour HR compliance and your 990
and all this, right?
And your marketing strategy, andyou're not thinking about that.
If you're heavy corporate, youwill get soak deep into those
things I just named and forgetthat the reason why you're doing
what you're doing.
So they have to sit just perfectin order to get the secret
sauce.
And so I'm grateful for thatgifting because I think that
(28:06):
that's what has gotten us towhere we are, because I can sit
and cry with you and talk to youand empathize and pray over you,
but then five minutes later I'mtalking to you about a content
calendar and a strategy for ourmarketing campaign.
Like I I don't know, that'sGod's favor.
Because I did not go to collegefor this, I did not get an
education for this, I have no Iliterally don't know where this
(28:27):
came from.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (28:29):
Which is super cool.
SPEAKER_04 (28:30):
Right.
Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00 (28:31):
Yeah, it's it's so what is so in essence you shared
a little bit in the in thebeginning of Jambo's, but like
give us the like one, where'sthe where did the name come
from?
What does it mean?
SPEAKER_03 (28:43):
I was gonna say please don't forget until it's a
good idea.
SPEAKER_00 (28:48):
How to how to start?
Like just tell me to and holdon, where are we out of time?
unknown (28:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:53):
Okay.
So we may have to uh we may haveto do a two-part and get to the
to the to the gives, but let'skeep going in this.
SPEAKER_04 (29:00):
Okay, you guys chop it up however you want to chop
it up.
Okay.
Take out whatever.
Um, okay, so we're not takinganything out.
Okay, I'm like, take outwhatever.
Um jambos.
Um, my mom called my pajamasjambos when I was a kid.
Um I thought that's what theywere.
SPEAKER_00 (29:12):
Uh so have you asked her why she did that?
SPEAKER_04 (29:14):
Um, I think it was like a tongue-in-cheek, like
kind of picking on there waslike a nickname of a guy in
school or something.
Like it was like something funnyfrom her past.
That is so funny.
And it was nothing love that.
Yeah.
And so she would always say,like, go put on your jambo
Keatmans.
I don't know why.
I don't even I don't know.
Pajamas had a last name.
Yeah, Jambo.
I guess.
Jambo Keatmans, go put yourjambo Keatmans on.
(29:35):
And um I know.
I'm like, I hope that's the guyshe went to college with or
something.
That's his full government name.
unknown (29:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (29:43):
Um Jambo Keatman.
We don't be losing put yourdammies on.
No, and they don't have a wholename.
My kids now.
My I heard my youngest say JamboKeatmans the other day.
And I was like, oh.
Anyway, so she called ourpajamas jambos.
And then when I spent the timein Africa, I was talking about
Swahili is the language I speakin Kenya, the area of Kenya that
we were in.
And um, they jambo means helloor welcome.
(30:04):
And the story is Is it spelledthe same?
But we have an S on ours, sojambo.
Gotcha.
And then the Americans have tosay jam.
They can't say jam to save theirlives.
So I just went with it.
It's fine.
Go with the flow.
Yeah, go with the flow.
Yay.
Um, so yeah.
But welcome to the south, too.
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (30:21):
Jambos.
Um if I can teach mysix-year-old first graders that
we go with the flow, yeah.
I can tell them we go andthey'll say, with the flow.
That's so cool.
You gotta teach the grown-ups toit, too.
SPEAKER_04 (30:32):
Yeah, they just can't.
And it's fine.
So, yeah, so that's where thename came from.
Um, I knew that I wanted, Iremember hearing my parents like
dream up a idea of having apajama company, and they were
like gonna make and play off ofthe word jam.
So they were gonna put liketraffic jammies and toe jammies
and like make the prints on themlike really cute.
(30:52):
I remember them doing that, andI remember seeing one, my mom
was a stay-at-home mom my wholelife, but that it showed my
mom's creativity and it showedmy mom's kind of business mind.
Right.
And I really kind of gotsomething from that.
I was like, okay, mom, go off,you know?
That's cool.
Um, and so, but that neverreally came to fruition or
whatever.
SPEAKER_03 (31:09):
But she's still shipping in that seat.
SPEAKER_04 (31:12):
I know.
And it was like, I rememberlistening to them, like dream
that up.
And I was like, oh, that's kindof cool.
So there was that kind of alwaysin the back of my head.
They always gave us pajamas atChristmas.
Jamies are like our thing in myfamily.
And so when I went, when I gotback from Kenya, I went to D Fax
and I was like, what do youneed?
Like, I want to help kids infoster care.
I'm a single mom.
I have no business bringing kidsin my house right now.
(31:32):
There doesn't say that singlemoms can't.
I just didn't have any businessdoing that in that season.
And um, they were like,honestly, kids in foster care
need pajamas.
And I was like, bet, I can dothat.
Yeah, like that got it.
So I went to my small group andI said, Um, let's instead of
exchanging candles and bottlesof wine this year, let's all
just collect pajamas and I'lltake them to DVAX.
(31:54):
Like, fun.
And um nine of us collected 223pairs of pajamas.
And I was like, holy crap, thisis gonna work.
Like, this is a thing.
SPEAKER_00 (32:04):
Was that kind of your aha moment when you're just
like, oh, we could this I couldactually do this?
SPEAKER_04 (32:08):
Yeah.
And I had nothing.
I had no website, no brandedcontent, no logo, really no
name.
A friend of mine made a littleflyer.
What my mom let me borrow herrubber made bins.
Like, I was like, I didn't haveanything.
It was I I had$12 in my bankaccount the day I quit my job to
start this.
Oh, wow.
Like that's it.
Not like a savings, no 401k,nothing.
(32:31):
$12.
That was it.
And so I was like, well, I can'tgo buy rubber made bins and I
can even make a business card.
Like I can buy a girl.
Like I can buy some groceries.
Barely could feed my own kids,you know.
And so um, so yeah, I wecollected 223 pair and I took
them to DFACS.
I didn't have any like brandingor mark.
(32:53):
I didn't, it was just, hi, welove you.
Here's some pajamas.
SPEAKER_00 (32:56):
And what was their reaction to that?
SPEAKER_04 (32:58):
Well, they were like thrilled because at that point
there were 843 kids in GwinnettCounty foster system.
Whoa, wow.
And that's a lot of kids.
And I was like, well, I want toserve 843 kids.
Yeah.
And that year we served 5,500kids.
Oh and we put right and we likepush pajamas all the way down
like Fulton County, ForsythCounty, Hall County.
I was pushing like, and I waslike, in my living room, I
(33:20):
pajamas were everywhere.
My kids had to move pajamas toput the Christmas trees up.
Like it was like, my God, getthese pajamas out of here.
You know?
And so um I, I mean, I hadmentors and that sort of thing,
but it was it was literally abunch of people just saying,
I'll do it, I'll do it.
And it was like, okay, so theyhosted jammy drives, and I would
take laundry baskets and tapeour name to the jam to the front
(33:42):
with a piece of paper, and theywould tell their school class
about it.
And they would tell their churchabout it, and they would tell
their gym about it.
And it was like soccer moms andCEOs, and here comes like it's
the craziest thing.
And so 5,500 kids in year one, Iwas like, I should probably like
get a website.
I need to get organized like alittle and like I have no money
(34:04):
for a website, I have no moneyfor any of this.
And God just kept providing it.
And um, people would come intomy life and be like, I'm a web
developer.
Do you need help?
Yeah, sure do.
Like you never ask.
Like what?
And so that type of stuff justkept happening over and over and
over.
And then yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:24):
Okay, so let's where where are we at, Michael?
unknown (34:27):
We are at 35.
SPEAKER_00 (34:29):
Okay, so what this is a great praise for us to just
kind of like, all right, let'sjust pause.
We're gonna, we're gonna take aminute, maybe bathroom break,
whatever it may be, uh, jumpback into part two, because
there's some things I want tojump into that, like I want to
hear the struggles, I want tohear the the stuff of being a
single mom, juggling all that.
(34:49):
I want to hear I want, you know,I want to get I want to get into
all of that a little bit more.
And I feel like if we just keepgoing, we yeah, you know, it
could be a little too long.
So um we're gonna take a break.
Um and join us for part two.
Yeah, we're gonna jump into parttwo.
So uh thank you guys.
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