There’s a lot of things that are hard about the Race. I would list them, but that would take too long haha. The Race is not supposed to be easy in any way, shape, or form. So going into it, Racers know to expect difficulty. What catches some of us off guard, however, is that the difficulty doesn’t start when we launch. It starts with our first “yes,” the application. Even in those early, fetal stages of our Race journey, Satan wants us to give up and turn away. But we persevere! We say yes! We start fundraising! We get to Training Camp! And then… Month 0 hits.
“Month 0” is what I call the month between Training Camp and Launch. I think all Racers have an inkling that Month 0 will be hard. Training Camp was life-changing! But we go home… and life hasn’t really changed. Only we have. We leave Training Camp transformed, pumped up, and ready to GO… only to return to families, jobs, and homes that aren’t as easy as they used to be, or maybe were never easy at all and they just got a lot worse. The C-sterhood hasn’t been home even two weeks yet and I’m already seeing this play out in so many of my C-sters.
Y’all, home is hard after Training Camp. Family is hard, going back to work is hard, living at home for the first time in years is hard, being separated from our squadmates who quickly became family is hard. But Month 0 is a teacher. And like it or not, we all have to take its class.
Full disclosure: home has been awesome for me. My family has been awesome, and I’m really thriving at home. I have my own struggles with Month 0, which I’ll get into, but I wanted to give full disclosure that I am not struggling in the “family” department.
I’ve been mulling on Month 0 a lot in my quiet time, and here’s what the Lord is teaching me (aka I have not mastered this, and I’m learning it right alongside y’all):
Even though we aren’t in a foreign country, living in a ministry host’s backyard, or with our teams, we are still World Racers and we are still ambassadors of Christ. Being home does not change that one iota. So as Racers and as ambassadors of Christ, our role is to serve our hosts with excellence and shine the Light of Christ.
There will be months on our Race when we won’t like our ministry hosts. We won’t agree with them or we may feel unappreciated or disrespected by them. But as Racers, we will serve them with excellence and treat them with honor and respect.
There will be months on our Race when we don’t like our ministry. It isn’t our cup of tea, we don’t feel good at it, it doesn’t exist, or we are burned out. But as Christ’s ambassadors, we will not grow weary of doing good and will shine our Light into the darkness and make disciples.
While we are home for Month 0, our families are our hosts. And as Racers, we will serve them with excellence. Is it always easy? Uhhh, no! But we will honor and respect them. It’s a choice that we get to make right here, right now. A choice to choose honor. This choice matters. It sets the tone for the rest of our Race and the rest of our lives.
And as we are home – maybe as you go to work or eat at Chick-fil-A for the sixth time (#guilty) or visit REI to buy that awesome sleeping pad your squadmate let you borrow at TC – we are ambassadors of Christ and His love. We were PUMPED about evangelism after that afternoon with our squads! What does it look like for us to be bold for the Gospel in our hometowns? There are people there, too, who don’t know the Name of Jesus. We are still World Racers, and we are still ambassadors of Christ.
My struggle in Month 0 has been to stay engaged in the now. I feel ready to go. Training Camp, especially my rededication and baptism, have me feeling HYPE. I am ready to go share the Name of Jesus with the nations, dive into challenging community, and grow exponentially in my faith. But Month 0 is here for a reason. I feel like it would be so easy to leave RIGHT NOW, but that feels like jumping into deep, deep water without a life vest. I’d be okay for a little while, but would crash really quickly once I got worn out. God has given me this month as a time for sweet, intentional good-byes (even when I feel like it would be easier to leave without them; it’s just a year anyway, right? Oh man, I know I would totally regret not having these sweet, sweet good-byes!). God has given me this month to practice discipline – mmm! Sweet, sweet discipline of study and processing and prayer every morning in His sweet, sweet, good presence and Word. I know this time of practicing discipline and practicing excellence (like helping with the mulch when I want to be reading) and practicing evangelism (like asking the man charging his phone next to me in ATL if he knows Jesus – shoutout to my Brother in Christ, Divont’e!) are just small small glimpses of what life on the Race will be like, but they are stretching me and strengthening me and I’m so so thankful for it.
My prayer for myself this month is to stay present and engaged with what God has for me right now and to carry this joy and readiness all the way to Launch in October! (FAQ – I report to Atlanta on the 6th and we fly out on the 9th!)
To my World Race brothers and sisters struggling with Month 0: you are not alone, not at all. I’m praying for you. Sit in this camp, be present in what God is doing right now, and be ready to build an altar and worship God for this milestone. God wants to teach you and prepare you through Month 0. I challenge you to serve your host with excellence, no matter who it is. I challenge you to shine the Light of Christ, no matter the circumstances.
Month 0 is a teacher. In the same way that fundraising teaches us to trust in God’s provision, Month 0 teaches us excellence, honor, respect, and integrity. It may even teach you more than this! Racers, leave your Month 0 lessons in the comments for all current and future Racers to learn from!
At TC we sang a song that says, “Take courage, my heart! Stay steadfast my soul! He’s in the waiting.” My friends, God is indeed in our waiting! Here’s that song, if you want to give it a listen again and let it minister to your soul:
It’s God’s lesson and His glory. His humble servant, Jess.
