Balding for Christmas

 “There
are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread, but there are many
more dying for a little love.”

 

Coming
on The Race, I knew that I would meet hundreds of people this year living in
poverty, in need, and in circumstances that would be heartbreaking, to say in
the least. In a journal entry from Training Camp, I addressed this issue:

   

Following
a simulation of a foreign refugee camp, I felt myself becoming physically ill
& overwhelmed at the thought of millions of God’s children lost in
desperation: confused, betrayed, frustrated, hopeless, helpless, and struggling
for just an ounce of security, safety, shelter, or simply an opportunity to
find freedom with the ones they love… In a world of such darkness and despair,
how does one find joy? …My prayer is that the weight of the World will not rest
on my shoulders as a burden of heartache and despair, but rather an endless
compassion, driving me to become the least of these in order to bring the
Kingdom here to the Earth.  

 

 I expected heartache. I expected to see
suffering and evil like never before. I expected to see the Lord move. But
this, I didn’t expect:

 

Her
name is Alondra. She is 9 yrs. old and lives at the City of Children, an
orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico. I have been visiting this orphanage since I was
in high school and have made life-long friendships with many people there. A
few months ago, one of my friends told me that Alondra was diagnosed with
cancer. Last month she began her chemotherapy treatment (which she has been
blessed to receive for free!), but I’m sure you can imagine what a struggle
this has been for her.

 

I
know the people at The City of Children have surrounded her with love, care,
and prayers, but it doesn’t change the fact that this sweet child does not have
her own parents or siblings to hold her and remind her that it will all be
okay. Ironically, I don’t know her very well, but since I first heard of
Alondra’s situation, she has been incessantly on my mind day after day. She is
constantly in my prayers, and often even in my dreams, and I believe the Lord
has placed her on my heart for a reason.

 

I
believe that I have been called to support Alondra in encouragement and cover
her in prayer. I know that there are many ways of showing her or telling her of
my love and support, but this Christmas I believe the Lord asked me to give her
a present that was a little bit more meaningful. This Christmas, I shaved my
head for Alondra.

 

   Call me crazy, call me a radical,
or tell me that I “don’t look like a proper woman” (yes, it’s happened
already), but I won’t regret my decision. The bottom line is that this world is
filled with people that are starving, poor, and naked, but as cliché as it
sounds, what people need more than anything is love. We can free the captives,
serve the poor, and feed the hungry, but if we do not love, it is meaningless.
I can travel the World to serve those in need, but there is no place that can
hide from the need of love.