I have a remarkable person I want to tell you about today!
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and when I say remarkable, I mean it. Her name is Jollie. Actually, she’s 27 years old and lives in the People’s Republic of China and her Chinese name is Zhi Liao. Almost four years ago, Jollie was in the middle of teaching a dance class when that terrible earthquake of May 2008 happened in the Sichuan province of China. You probably remember hearing about it on the news. Jollie was only 23 at the time and had her little 10-month-old daughter with her, and also her mother-in-law. Immediately, the building she was in collapsed on all of them. All told, there were 46 people trapped in the rubble. In that tragic moment, Jollie lost her little child and her mother-in-law; both perished in the earthquake, along with all 46 others. After more than 25 hours trapped below in the rubble, Jollie continued to call out for help. And finally, rescuers heard her cries and dug through to reach her. But this beautiful dance teacher faced more tragedy because both legs had to be amputated below the knees in order to extract her from the building.
Now I cannot begin to imagine how she coped with her grief and loss, but I know one thing: it started Jollie out on an amazing journey to know the God of the Bible. It seems that years earlier when she was a little girl, she found a slip of paper with First Corinthians 13 written on it. She was fascinated that something so beautiful and meaningful came from something called the Bible. After the horrible earthquake, she remembered that portion of Scripture and went on a search to find a Bible. Thank the Lord, she encountered American missionaries who were working in the Sichuan province, helping to clean up after the earthquake. And it was these American missionaries who ultimately led her to Jesus Christ.
And now? Even though Jollie is without legs from the knees down, she continues to express her talent through dance. In fact, when these American missionaries recently brought Jollie by our International Disability Center, she enthusiastically shared her testimony of how Jesus Christ saved her life and how that now she wants to tell the young people in her country all about her Savior… and she wants to do it through dance. While Jollie was in my office, she performed a short dance. We took a snapshot of her and you really must go to my radio page when we’re through here to see it. She’s a wonderful believer in the Lord with such an engaging smile. In the photo she has on her prosthetic legs, but you’ll see, this woman is exceptional.
I am hoping that we can have Jollie perform at our International Family Retreats in China. We think she’d be a real inspiring example to the other families whose children have disabilities. I hope you’ll join us in praying for Jollie and don’t forget to visit my radio page at joniandfriends.org to see her photo today. Psalm 105 is certainly Jollie’s motto for it says, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.” And if Jollie were speaking right now, she would say, “Dance to Him, dance praise to Him and through it all, tell of all His wonderful acts.” More than one billion people live in the People’s Republic of China and we need to be praying for the many young Christians like Jollie who have a heart to reach that great nation for the kingdom of Christ. Jollie and I will see you later at joniandfriends.org.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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