On Wednesday October 28, JECHS was honored to have Gianna Jessen speak to the student body at a special assembly made possible through the prayers of the Wednesday morning parent prayer group and the generosity of several parents, alumni families and other individuals.
Gianna is a Christian. Her life was given to her by the grace of God. She shouldn’t be walking, but more miraculous still; she should not even be alive. Gianna’s biological mother was 17 when she had a saline abortion in her third trimester. Many Americans don’t realize it is legal to have an abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. After being burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb from the saline solution, Gianna was delivered alive in a Los Angeles County abortion clinic. Her medical records state, “born during saline abortion”…this is what caused her Cerebral Palsy. Gianna weighed a mere 2 lbs at birth and the doctors said she would never be able to hold up her head, sit up, crawl or walk. She began to walk by the age of three years old with the help of leg braces and a walker.
Gianna Jessen does not quit. Giving up is not an option to her. Gianna has what she refers to as the “gift” of Cerebral Palsy. Gianna doesn’t believe that her Cerebral Palsy takes away her life, but, rather, enriches it. . . she walks with a slight limp today and runs marathons. On April 30, 2005 she completed her first 26.2 mile marathon after running just over 7 hours! On April 23, 2006 she completed the London Marathon as well. She is now determined to run marathons all over the place, because she was never supposed to even walk!
Gianna understands the plight of orphans, being one herself. She was placed into the foster care system early on in life, eventually being taken into the loving home of a woman named Penny. Penny has been a mother to 56 foster children in her life. Gianna was later adopted by Penny’s daughter, making Penny Gianna’s grandmother. According to Gianna, Penny saved her life.
Gianna speaks all over the world and has recently been in a commercial to share the importance of the Born Alive Protection Act and on Fox News during last years election.
She shared many things with our students and many parents who joined that day for the assembly. Some highlights include:
To young people: “God forgives, but you life is not all about you…the decisions that you make affect many others. Every day I bear the mark of someone else’s decision. I am not a victim. I didn’t sign up for an easy life but an excellent life. If you are going to do anything in life, you have to stop caring what others think of you in a New York minute.”
To the boys – “You are not meant to be weasels or punks. You were meant to be warriors. You are made for greatness. This culture puts men and boys down every day; tries to turn them into being like women. You are to stand up for women and children, and not pay for an abortion.”
To the girls- “If you had a rotten relationship with your dad, you do not need to be dating right now. You need to let Jesus heal you. You need to heal. When your heart is whole you will choose a man who is not a weasel. You’re meant to be fought for.
The student responses were enthusiastic and positive. She made them both laugh and cry as she shared her story and challenged them to live a purposeful life for the Lord. What an incredible opportunity they had to hear this dynamic woman and her miraculous testimony. Thanks to everyone who made it happen.
Gianna was an excellent speaker, I enjoyed hearing her as a parent as well!! She has truly made lemonade out of the lemons that life has handed her. God bless you Gianna, thank you for coming to speak at Jim Elliot!!
By: Julie on November 9, 2009
at 7:35 pm