Talking about her disability, Jessica admits that it is difficult to swim without her feet, not only does she have to exert much more strength than normal people, and endure severe pain, but also often faces the attention of others about her disability. Even adults often stare at her. Some ignorant children will even talk about and even laugh at her. Many times, Jessica also feels that being a good athlete with disabilities is too hard and too difficult. But she said her faith gave her comfort and strength. On her website, http://www.jessicalong.org, she wrote: “I am a Christian. When I was very young, my parents taught me how Jesus died for me. Jessica’s parents knew what sacrificial love was. They are not her biological parents.
In 1992, Jessica (born Tatiana Cherinova) was born in a small remote town in cold and inhospitable Siberia. She was born without a fibula, a condyle, or a heel, nor any other bones in her foot. Her biological parents could not accept the disabled baby. She and her brother, who also has a disability (rabbit lip), were sent to an orphanage in poor conditions and lacking caregivers.
In 1992 and 1993, in Baltimore, a civil servant, Mr. Lang, a civil servant, and his wife were praying for the adoption of a child. The couple already had two children themselves. Like many Americans who went to China to adopt abandoned baby girls, the Langs were Christians. God touched the couple’s heart to go to the former Soviet Union to adopt an abandoned baby.
When Jessica was 13 months old, the Langs came to an orphanage in a small Siberian town, and they immediately fell in love with Jessica and her brother. They adopted Jessica and her brother and brought them back to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Lang chose to adopt two disabled babies, of course, not because they did not know how much self-denial, sacrifice, and dedication required. But they were willing to pour out their lives and raise Jessica and her brother as if they were their children. Wang Yi said in the film review: “The meaning of adoption is to share one’s life, wealth and inheritance with strangers.” Had it not been for Christ’s sacrificial, sacrificial love, Mr. and Mrs. Lang would not have done this. When Jessica was 18 months old, she underwent a double leg amputation in the United States. Then the doctor put a prosthetic leg on her. After two-year-old Jessica put on a prosthetic leg, she walked on her own without being taught by an adult. Lang’s father and Lang’s mother were very moved in their hearts: walking, for ordinary people, is the most ordinary God-given ability, but Jessica, their precious daughter, was born with a disability, but today she can walk freely on the earth, which is God’s extra grace.
Giggling little Jessica doesn’t just like to walk. From an early age, she showed a love and talent for sports. She loves to run, jump (especially on the trampoline), and enjoy all kinds of sports. At a very young age, she started gymnastics, and basketball, and when she was older, she also fell in love with ice skating, bowling, and rock climbing. But it wasn’t until she was ten years old that she learned to swim in the pool in her grandfather’s backyard. Soon, it was discovered that she was a particularly good swimmer (her arm and upper body strength were particularly superhuman), and she could swim faster than others when competing in the same pool with normal people of the same age. Soon, she was selected for the Disabled athletic teams in Baltimore and Maryland.
In 2004, at the age of twelve, Jessica was selected for the U.S. national team at the Athens Paralympic Games, becoming the youngest Paralympian in history and winning three gold medals. Overnight, the twelve-year-old became a sports star in the media, with flowers, praise, and all sorts of accolades. But Jessica doesn’t feel spoiled at all. Jessica was educated at home (her parents were home-schooling) from an early age, and she still is. Olympic or Paralympic athletes in the United States are amateur athletes, and all expenses need to be raised themselves. Sometimes, when encountering competition, it is necessary to live in a hotel and train intensively in other places, which will have a lot of expenses.
Long’s father and mother are working-class, not rich, and many times, Jessica has to raise her own money (through websites, etc.). Whether it is Daddy Lang, Mom Lang or Jessica herself, when interviewed about Jessica’s achievements, they will say that it is completely God’s grace, and all the glory is to God. Jessica is indeed a girl who is loved by God. The Paralympic Games are just around the corner, and Jessica is about to show off her sweet smile and athletic talent to the world in Beijing. I pray in my heart for this extraordinary “girl next door” and for the little sister in Christ, that God will give her faith, strength, and glory to God again with excellent results and testimony.
