S-21. Gianna Jessen

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Hello. I'm Mike Procter.

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And I'm Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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Gianna Jessen ran towards the finish line. She was struggling. Every part of her body hurt. But she was not going to give up. Her friend ran alongside her. He encouraged her to keep going. They had been running for over eight hours. At last they both reached the end. They ran past the finish line. Gianna had completed the race.

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Gianna was running in the London marathon. The marathon is a long race - forty-two point one nine five [42.195] kilometres. When Gianna reached the finish line many people cheered. But Gianna was not the winner of the race. Hundreds of people had finished before her. So why was Gianna so special?

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Gianna suffers from the condition called cerebral palsy. She finds it hard to control her body movements. This is because parts of Gianna's brain are damaged. She was starved of oxygen when she was born. When she was young doctors said that she would not be able to sit, stand or walk. No one expected Gianna to be able to run a marathon. But Gianna had her own very special reason for running the marathon. She says,

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'I have learned that weakness can be beautiful. People are often afraid to be weak. Yet a person can have joy in the middle of struggle. I hope that people will see you do not have to be weighed down by problems. God can help. He has helped me in so many ways. He will help me through the marathon. I will run for him and I will never give up'.

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People gave money to encourage Gianna. They promised money for every kilometre she completed. Gianna has raised a lot of money. She has given the money to the 'Stars Organisation Supporting Cerebral Palsy' or S.O.S. Reporters told about Gianna's race in newspapers and on television. It is a good news story. But Gianna has an even more powerful story to share. It is a story of forgiveness.

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Gianna's condition is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. This can happen for very many different reasons. Some people develop cerebral palsy after an accident. They stop breathing for a few minutes. The lack of oxygen to the brain causes damage. But an accident did not cause Gianna's problem.

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Gianna's mother - Tina - was a very young girl. She was only seventeen years old when she became pregnant. She could not manage a baby. The father of her baby was also young. He could not support her. So Tina decided to abort - kill her unborn child. But Tina was over seven months pregnant. It would be hard to carry out the abortion. Tina visited experts who could help her. They gave Tina chemicals to kill her baby. They told Tina that she would give birth to a dead baby. After seventeen hours of labour - Gianna was born. But she was not dead. She was very much alive.

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The woman on duty was shocked. This had never happened before. She called for an ambulance. The ambulance arrived quickly. It took baby Gianna to hospital. Gianna was very small and weak. The chemicals had damaged her. She had cerebral palsy. She was fighting for life. The doctors started treating her. But they were not sure if Gianna would survive.

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But Gianna did survive. She spent several months in hospital. Her natural mother never came to see her. So a number of different people cared for Gianna. At the age of four she was adopted. Another woman became Gianna's legal mother. Her name is Diana. Diana helped Gianna to deal with her cerebral palsy. And Gianna made good progress. In time she was sitting, standing and walking. She did well at school. Her new family loved and cared for her. They took her to church. They told her about the love of God.

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But Gianna still had questions. She wanted to know more about Tina. Why had she given Gianna away? Diana gently explained. She told Gianna the truth. She told Gianna that she had survived abortion. She told her that her physical problems were caused when she was born.

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Giana was shocked. It was difficult to understand. Her natural mother had tried to abort her.

Gianna also knew that her cerebral palsy was caused when she was born. She asked Diana about healing. Would God heal her? Gianna remembers her mother's words. She says,

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'My mother (Diana) explained that it may not be God's will for me to be healed. But she also told me that she believed God would use my weakness in a very special way'.

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Gianna remembers the first time she told people her story. It was at a local church. She prayed that God would give her the right words to say. She told people about her birth. She told them about her cerebral palsy. Then she talked about forgiveness. She said,

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'I forgive my natural mother totally. I may have cerebral palsy - but that is okay because I have God. It is not always easy. But he is always there. And he can be there for you too'.

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Today Gianna often tells her story. She hopes that it brings healing and hope to other people. After one church meeting a woman came to Gianna. She was crying. She told Gianna that she had aborted her baby. She had never told anyone about this before. She felt bad. Gianna was able to tell her about God's love and forgiveness.

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Gianna believes in a God that loves and forgives. The Bible tells of wrong doing as a barrier that separates people from God. The Bible says that God showed his wonderful love when he sent Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus was executed on a cross. The Bible says that when Jesus died, he took the blame for people's wrongdoing. Now people can receive God's forgiveness. All they have to do is to ask and accept his love.

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Gianna knows that the love of Jesus Christ changes lives. He has changed hers. She talks about her celebral palsy as a gift. It is not something she would have wished for. But Gianna believes that God is using her weakness to bring his message of love to everyone. Gianna believes that God's love can fill people's lives with meaning and value. She feels honoured that God should use her in this way. If she had to run a hundred marathons to bring God's message of hope - Gianna would do it!

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The writer of today's programme was Elizabeth Lickiss. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. Computer users can hear our programmes on our website at www.radio.english.net. This programme is called 'Gianna Jessen'