Unstoppable (13 page)

“If that meant the end of my acting career, then so be it,” he said.

In the weeks and months that followed, Eduardo’s income plummeted, but he saw that as necessary to his renewal. He attempted to clear out all material distractions so he could once again hear the voice of God in his life. He said this purification process was painful at first. He wept in sorrow over the sinful life he’d led, the women he’d hurt, the lies he’d told, and the time he’d wasted pursuing his own glory instead of glorifying God.

Eduardo worked on putting his faith back at the center of his life. He read the Bible and spiritual books for inspiration and to educate himself on his faith. “I had no money to pay rent. I had nothing, but I had everything,” he said.

Eduardo considered joining a church mission to serve the poor in the Amazon rainforest for two years as a way to cleanse his soul of past sins, but his priest told him, “Hollywood will be your jungle. It belongs to God, not the studios, and we need to take it back. You need to be the light in the darkness, because Hollywood has such a large impact around the world, and our Lord touched your heart here for a reason.”

His priest advised him to use his talent and connections to make films with a positive message. Mother Teresa once said that we are not called to be successful, but we are called to be faithful to God. If success comes with being faithful, then thanks be to God. With that in mind Eduardo created his own film company, Metanoia, which is Greek for “repentance.” His goal is to make movies that are positive and inspirational and also serve God’s purpose.

Metanoia Films’s first major movie project was
Bella
. This powerful drama with a positive pro-life message was made for three million dollars and took in more than forty million dollars worldwide. The best results of the film were the e-mails, phone calls, and letters Eduardo received from women who reported that the movie changed their lives. In addition, more
than five hundred women contacted his staff to say the movie convinced them to have their babies rather than have abortions.

The success of
Bella
allowed Eduardo to make even more positive and inspirational movies, including his latest,
Little Boy
. As his resources have grown, so has his passion for using his talents for the greater good. His most remarkable creation may well be his international aid organization
Manto de Guadalupe
(Mantle of Faith) that promotes human dignity and relief for those suffering. His work there includes mission trips to places where there is great need, including the Sudan (Darfur), Haiti, and Peru.

Another of his guiding passions is to steer young women away from abortions. He is so dedicated to this that he began spending his free time on watch outside abortion clinics in the poorest areas of Los Angeles. There, he would intercept and talk to pregnant girls and women, offering them solutions and helping them with medical care, food, and jobs. His efforts to put faith into action do not end there. Through his Mantle of Faith organization and tireless fund-raising, Eduardo built a medical center in Los Angeles that provides free high-quality care for pregnant women and their unborn babies. It is situated in a Latino barrio area that has ten abortion facilities within a one-mile radius.

“It drove me crazy and gave me headaches to see how many abortion places were in this Latino barrio, and after a year of being there on Saturdays to encourage women not to get abortions, I decided to provide them with an alternative that would help them deliver their babies and care for them,” he said.

Eduardo overcame huge obstacles to make this vision for a medical center come true. I’m honored to have appeared at fund-raisers to support the Guadalupe clinic, which has state-of-the-art medical equipment and a wonderful, caring medical staff. Eduardo designed the facility to be like a
spa, so when women entered, they would immediately feel comforted and cared for. Already, they have saved many lives.

Eduardo and I consider ourselves brothers now, but back when we were filming
The Butterfly Circus
, he had to yell at me to get me to spit on him for our big scene together. I kept begging the director just to do it with special effects. Eduardo, the professional actor, kept egging me on until I finally agreed to do it—of course, he wasn’t so thrilled that an amateur actor had to do it seven or eight times before he got it right! They actually had to give me special tablets so I could work up a frothy spit.

I’m grateful that Eduardo did not hold it against me and that our friendship has grown over the years. He recently completed a movie titled
Cristiada
about a Catholic rebellion against persecution in Mexico in the 1920s, with big stars including Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, and Peter O’Toole. (In 2012 the film was released in the United States with the title
For Greater Glory
). Eduardo’s career is once again on track, but now he is able to live in faith and in peace as he follows his passion for serving God’s will by making positive, faith-filled movies.

When I first met Eduardo on the set of
The Butterfly Circus
, he stunned me by saying that he’d kept a poster of me on the wall of his apartment for inspiration during the most difficult period of his life. As he told me his story, I found that Eduardo inspired me instead.

My friend’s return to grace is proof that it is never too late for any of us to discover our true passion and purpose, something that allows us to express all the blessings and love God put into creating us. No matter where you are in life, no matter how far you may have wandered from God’s path, you can always return to grace. If you have yet to find your passion—or if, like Eduardo, you have lost your way—have faith, forgive yourself, and ask God to do the same. Then you’ll be on your way to becoming unstoppable!

FIVE

R
ACHEL
W
ILLISSON OF
C
RANBROOK
, B
RITISH
C
OLUMBIA, LOST HER
mother-in-law, her grandmother, her father, and her dog all in one year. The only positive development during that time was that she became pregnant with her second child, a blessing since she and her husband, Craig, conceived this second child easily after having struggled for years to get pregnant the first time.

Then, in November 2007, just two months after she’d lost her father, Rachel and her husband were told by a sonogram operator that something was not right with their twenty-one-week-old fetus. A radiologist was summoned, and after more testing, he told the couple that the baby appeared to have no arms and her legs were much shorter than they should have been at that stage.

“In an absolute weeping mess, I raced home and Googled ‘babies with no arms and no legs,’ ” Rachel said. “On the screen popped up this
incredibly cute blond baby boy with no arms and legs but with a soother in his mouth! I started to read about that child, now grown into a young man in his twenties, and I watched every one of his videos I could find. I couldn’t tear myself away from the screen. I watched ten or fifteen of those videos, and as I watched one after another, calm came over me.”

The fearful, negative thoughts that had bombarded her at first were gradually replaced by more hopeful and positive thoughts.
If this guy is okay without arms and legs, then my baby will be okay. He seems to really be doing well. He seems happy and upbeat. He travels the world. We can handle this; our child will be fine
.

“Everything he said in those videos calmed me and gave me peace. I realized God was settling my heart by telling me if Nick Vujicic could become a magnificent person, our baby could too!” she recalled. “God knew who to send me.”

Yes, that “incredibly cute blond baby boy,” was me, believe it or not. (Thank you, Rachel! That makes two of us who think I was awfully adorable.) After finding my childhood photograph, reading about me, and watching my videos, Rachel and Craig Willisson realized that their unborn baby could live a relatively normal life, even a ridiculously good life. So when their doctor suggested that termination was an option, their response was, “No, absolutely not!”

“I don’t think I took a breath before I said no!” Rachel said. “We had tried getting pregnant for ten years before our first daughter, Georgia, was born, and I could not even fathom the thought of killing this baby, Brooke. Maybe in society’s eyes she was not perfect, but in ours she was. We realized that this baby was here for a reason—
God’s
reason, not mine. Who was I to say what is considered perfect? She was kicking, moving; her heart was beating in my body. My baby, in whatever form, was mine.”

Rachel and Craig decided they would raise their “little masterpiece” of a daughter just like my parents had raised me—“to do God’s work.”

When Brooke was born, her family was not only prepared, they were excited and feeling blessed. “We had a celebration,” Rachel said. “They had to shut down the maternity ward because we had thirty-five visitors in our room with flowers and food and presents.”

I met Brooke and her parents and sister two years after her birth. When Rachel told me her story of being at first overwhelmed by the radiologist’s report and then calmed and reassured by my videos, I was so touched and thankful I couldn’t stop crying.

My own mum and dad had no one who had gone through a similar experience to give them comfort and reassurance after I was born. But ever since I met the Willisson family, my parents have been there for them, offering their guidance and sharing their experiences. What a gift to be able to serve this family and their precious daughter Brooke, who was four years old as of February 2012.

“She is like a female version of Nick,” her mother says. “They share the same determination and love and warmth, as well as this cheeky attitude with an excitement and zest for life that takes your breath away sometimes. But the greatest thing is hugging them. When you hug Nick and Brooke, because they have no arms, you get that much closer to their hearts. It always makes me sigh.”

Brooke’s father, Craig, is an example of something I have seen many times with individuals and families who’ve dealt with disabilities or serious illness. Instead of being angry or bitter about their child’s lack of limbs and
other physical challenges that have stressed the family’s finances, Craig Willisson has drawn closer to God than ever before.

“I wasn’t much of a church person or much into faith, but we named our daughter Brooke Diana Grace Willisson after the grace of God. Her birth definitely has brought me closer to God and to a lot of new people—our church family,” he said.

Brooke’s birth was a difficult one. Her mother hemorrhaged after the delivery. “But I saw how God stepped in and made everything right,” said Craig, who decided to be baptized once his wife and daughter were both home and doing well. “I think God saw that Rachel and I are the type of people who can handle Brookie’s disabilities,” he said. “She is definitely a prodigy of God. And ever since her birth, He has helped us with a lot of good things. We recently had two ‘angels’ in our community pop up and offer to build a huge addition onto our place for free. We feel that God is pulling people together.”

I stay in touch with Brooke and her parents, and the thing that always strikes me about them is that they are such joyful people. I don’t say that lightly. They have challenges, to be sure, but you only have to be around them for a bit to realize how they truly have joy in their lives. Brooke is like a bright light that draws people to her, and her parents seem to always be celebrating the lives of her and her sister, Georgia.

Rachel has made a T-shirt collection for Brooke and their family and friends with messages such as “Who Needs Limbs When You Have God?” “When God Made Me He Was Just Showing Off,” and my personal favorite, “Arms Are for Wimps!”

The Willissons have put their faith in action in dealing with Brooke’s physical disabilities. They have accepted that God has a plan for their daughter, even though they don’t know what that plan may be. They say it has helped them to watch God’s plan for me unfold. They know that His
plan for Brooke may be entirely different, but they are taking each day as it comes with gratitude, grace, and—as the T-shirts indicate—healthy doses of humor.

Why is it that some people with disabilities like Brooke or others with serious illnesses or cruel diseases can find peace, enjoy other aspects of their lives, and even make positive contributions despite their own challenges? Could it be that they have not allowed their physical problems to cripple them emotionally? Could it be that they’ve chosen to focus on what is good in their lives instead of what is bad? Perhaps. Here is another possibility: maybe they’ve let go and let God. Maybe they’ve decided to let go of their pain, anger, and grief and let God handle it instead. Most people dealing with serious health problems or severe disabilities put faith into action every day in some way. Often it is faith in their doctors and nurses or in their pills, treatment, and medical equipment. Accepting professional medical care is consistent with having faith. God has given you the opportunity to be served by trained and talented people. If you are thirsty, you might like to have it quenched supernaturally, but you surely would accept a cup of water handed to you by a caring person, wouldn’t you? It’s the same with God’s leading your decisions as you walk in faith.