Life Without Limits (30 page)

A few years later Han-Han invited me to return to Indonesia for another speaking tour. This time I provided my own caregiver and stuck to bottled water with no ice. A businessman in Indonesia, whom we knew as Pa Chokro, arranged for me to speak to nearly forty thousand people at stadium appearances in five cities. The events were also broadcast on television.

One Sunday morning, after I had done three speaking engagements at a church, we took a break since I had three events that evening. I was hungry and tired but decided to address the hunger first. We found a Chinese restaurant near my last speaking venue. A group of local leaders and sponsors of our tour accompanied us. We walked in, with my caregiver Vaughan carrying me.

The restaurant was not fancy, little more than a concrete floor with wooden tables and chairs. Just as we were seated, a young woman came up to the door and leaned against its frame. She was weeping and speaking in Indonesian directly to me. I felt a wave of compassion for her. I had no idea what she was saying, but I could see that she was gesturing at me and in need of a hug.

The businessmen and community leaders with me seemed to be touched by her words. They explained that this woman, Esther, had
grown up in a tin-roofed shanty made of cardboard. She lived with her mother and two siblings at the edge of a garbage dump, where they foraged for food each day and collected bits of plastic to sell to the recycling factory. She had a strong faith in God, but when her father left the family, Esther despaired and considered suicide. She believed that her life wasn’t worth living.

Upset over the departure of her father, she considered taking her life. She prayed, telling God that she could no longer go to church. That same day her pastor showed the congregation one of my DVDs. It was a black-marketed copy, one of 150,000 made illegally and sold in Indonesia.

When I’d first learned from Han-Han that so many of my DVDs had been pirated and sold, I responded, “Don’t worry about it, praise God.” I cared more about people hearing my message than about making profits. Even on the black market, God was at work, as Esther would confirm.

Through an interpreter, Esther told me that my DVD had inspired her to reject despair. She came to find a purpose and to have hope. She felt that “if Nick can trust in God, then I can too.” She prayed for a job and fasted for six months. She’d found the job in that same Chinese restaurant, which brought us together!

After hearing this story, I gave Esther a hug and asked her what her plans were. She had decided that even though she had little money and worked fourteen hours a day, she would prepare herself to be a children’s minister. She hoped to attend a Bible college, even though she wasn’t sure how that could happen given her situation. She was living in the restaurant, sleeping on the floor because she couldn’t afford a place to live.

I nearly fell off my chair at that revelation. I hadn’t felt really comfortable about eating in the place. I couldn’t imagine this poor woman sleeping there. I encouraged her to find a different place to live and to pursue her dream to be a children’s minister.

One of the members of our group was a pastor. After Esther returned to her work, he told me that the local Bible college was very expensive, and it had a twelve-month waiting list just to take the entrance exam, which very few applicants passed.

A steaming plate full of food was placed in front of me, but I’d lost my appetite. I kept thinking of this poor woman sleeping on the floor. As the rest of the group prayed in thanks for the meal, I prayed for Esther. My prayers were answered almost immediately. The pastor seated next to me said that his church could provide Esther with living accommodations if I contributed the security deposit. I asked if Esther could afford to pay her rent, and the pastor assured me that she could handle it. So I agreed. I was very excited to tell Esther, but before she returned to our table, one of the businessmen said that he would make the down payment himself.

I told him I wanted to do my part, but I appreciated his offer.

Just then another of our party spoke up. “I am the president of the Bible College,” he said. “I will allow Esther to take the entrance exam this week, and if she passes, I will see that she gets a scholarship.”

God’s plan unfolded before my eyes. Esther scored 100 percent on the entrance exam. She graduated from the Bible college in November 2008. She is now the youth director for a children’s ministry in one of Indonesia’s largest churches, and she has plans to create an orphanage in her community.

Throughout this book I’ve been telling you about the power of purpose. Esther’s story is a testament to that power. This woman had nothing but a sense of purpose and faith in God. Her purpose and her faith created a powerful magnetic field that attracted me and an entire team of people willing to buy into her dream.

I am humbled by Esther, her powerful sense of purpose, her undying hope for a better life, her faith in God, her self-love, her positive attitude, her fearlessness and resilience, her willingness to take risks, and her ability to reach out to others.

Esther’s story amazes and inspires me. I hope you feel the same way. My purpose in writing this book has been to light the flames of faith and hope inside you so that you too can live a life without limits. Your circumstances may be difficult. You may have challenges with your health, your finances, or your relationships. But with a sense of purpose, faith in your future, and determination to never give up, you can overcome any obstacle.

Esther did it. You can too. When I was growing up, my lack of limbs often seemed like an insurmountable burden, but my “disability” has proven to be a blessing in many, many ways because I learned to follow God’s path.

You may face many trials too, but you should know that wherever you feel weakness, God is strong. He took me from disabled to enabled and instilled in me a passion for sharing my stories and my faith to help others cope with their own challenges.

I realized that my purpose was to turn my struggles into lessons that glorify God and inspire others. He blessed me as a blessing to others. Distribute your own blessings with enthusiasm, and know that whatever you do will be multiplied many times. In all things God works for the best for those who love Him. He loves you, and I love you too.

Christians often are told that we are “the hands and feet of Christ” on earth. If I took that literally, I might feel a bit left out. Instead, I take it spiritually. I serve Him by touching as many lives as I can through my testimony and my example. My goal is to reflect the love of Christ for us all. He has given us life so that we might share our gifts with each other. This fills me with joy, and
it should fill you with joy too. I hope that the stories and messages in this book have helped and inspired you to find your purpose, to be hopeful, to have faith, to love yourself, to have a positive attitude, and to be fearless, unstoppable, accepting of change, trustworthy, open to opportunities, willing to take risks, and be charitable to others.

Please stay in touch with me and share your stories and thoughts on the book by visiting me online at
NickVujicic.com
, also known as
LifeWithoutLimbs.org
and
AttitudeIsAltitude.com
.

Remember this: God has a truly great purpose for your life! Live it without limits!

With love and faith,
Nick

GOD: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The ones who I strive to make proud, my pillars of strength, Dad and Mum. I love you so much! Thank you for everything! To my brother, my true first best friend and rock, Aaron, and my sister-in-law, Michelle. To my inspiration to never compromise in integrity and to be the best I can be, my dear sister, Michelle.

To my Vujicic grandparents, Vladimir and Nada, now resting in eternal peace, who encouraged me to believe and be disciplined. To my grandma, who I’ll get to know better in heaven, Anica Radojevic. To my ninety-three-year-old grandpa, Dragoljub Radojevic, and his wife, Ana, who taught me to never add to or subtract from the Gospel.

My love and thanks to all of my uncles and aunties, first, second, and third cousins, and other family members. In loving memory of Bosko Zunic, Roy Zunic, Martin Poljak, Joshua Vujicic, Steve Nenadov, and Barney Nenadov.

The board of directors for Life Without Limbs (USA): Batta Vujicic, David Price, Dan’l Markham, Don McMaster, and their wives and families. The board of directors for Life Without Limbs (Hong Kong chapter): Ignatius Ho and George Miksa, and their families. The
volunteering international co-ordinators for Life Without Limbs. The Apostolic Christian Church of the Nazarean, and a very special thanks to Joni and Friends Ministry who have always been there for our ministry, and me personally. The team of Attitude is Altitude, and my mentors and coaches who always believed in me.

A big thank-you to my literary agents with great patience and faith in me, Jan Miller and Nena Madonia of Dupree Miller & Associates, and their team. Also to my writer, Wes Smith, who has done an absolutely incredible job at helping me put this together and working around our hectic touring. To the Crown Publishing Group and the entire team, thank you. Special thanks to Michael Palgon, Trace Murphy, and Karin Schulze.

Finally, a huge thank-you to all my friends who have loved, supported, and prayed for me along the way. To all of you who are reading, I want to also acknowledge your support as you help spread this message of hope to your family and friends. Thank you very much!

I encourage you to be just as creative as Hilary Lister in finding ways to give and support others. The latest trends in philanthropy include micro-volunteering and micro-action, which are spin-offs from successful micro-lending programs that have provided millions and millions of dollars in small loans. If you have a cell phone and a few extra minutes, you can reach out as a micro-volunteer to take micro-action to help a worthy cause or a person in need.

A social entrepreneurial enterprise called the Extraordinaries operates a for-profit service for those who are willing to do good using their smartphones or their Web browsers. The idea is that while many people can’t give up an entire day to do good deeds, they can do a little here and there, while commuting by rail or bus, waiting in line, or during breaks at work. The Extraordinaries Web site (
http://www.beextra.org
) and smartphone application hooks those people up so they can do benevolent work in small bites.

Some of the good deeds that the Extraordinaries can help you perform, according to their Web site, include recording an audio version of a book just a few pages at a time for a group that distributes audiobooks to the disabled; translating a nonprofit’s Web site into a foreign language; recording pothole locations for your town; identifying birds for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; tagging images
for the Smithsonian; identifying and mapping good and safe places for kids to play; or reviewing congressional bills for hidden pork.

The company plans to make money by charging organizations a fee for each task performed by its micro-volunteers, a movement that uses technology and crowd sourcing to do little things that add up to a lot of good. It’s cutting-edge philanthropy that uses the Internet and social networking to make the planet a better place. Here are just a few Web sites where you can plug into the “Giving Grid” from your laptop or smart phone.

Multimillionaire tech entrepreneur Ryan Scott founded Causecast to help nonprofit and charitable organizations reduce high-cost donation transaction fees that cut into their ability to do good. Causecast accomplishes that mission with innovative methods that include helping donors make contributions via their cell phones by using a “text-to-pay payment system.” Causecast has branched out to serve as a link between worthy nonprofits and companies interested in developing cause-marketing campaigns. This $1.5 billion industry involves major companies who want to partner their brands with good causes and support them through donations or shared proceeds.

This education advocacy site encourages “citizen philanthropy” by taking requests for assistance from public schoolteachers across North America looking for everything from pencils for economically disadvantaged students to chemistry lab equipment, musical instruments, and books. You can go to their Web site, choose which request you want to help with, and donate any amount you want.
DonorsChoose.org
then delivers the materials to the school. They
also provide photos of your gift in use at the schools, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how your money was spent. Larger donors get personal thank-you letters from the students.

This social-networking site promotes advocacy projects, sort of a Facebook for philanthropists in action. It encourages people who want to be charitable to promote their ideas, recruit fellow believers, and raise money on its global action network. Its members’ projects have included building an IT learning center for the poor in Sri Lanka and helping to supply running water to a village in South Africa.

GlobalGiving’s goal is to help donors become doers by connecting them to more than seven hundred prescreened grassroots charity projects, according to its Web site. “From running orphanages and schools, to helping survivors of natural disasters, these people are do-gooders to the core. We connect these ‘good idea people’ with the ‘generous giver people’ and help projects of all sizes receive donations of all sizes,” the site says.

People with projects post their causes and wish lists on the Web site, and those who wish to make donations can pick and choose those they want to support or become involved in. GlobalGiving also guarantees that 85 percent of each donation is “on-the-ground within 60 days and has an immediate impact.”

This Web site connects the needy and the working poor to those willing to loan or give them a little at a time. Billed as “the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website,” it allows visitors to browse profiles of its low-income entrepreneurs and then to make small loans of six to twelve months to those selected. Donors are kept updated on the entrepreneur’s progress via e-mails, journal updates, and repayment tracking.