วันจันทร์ที่ 30 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2552

A Story of NIck Vujicic - more to read!!!

A story of Nick Vujicic -- no arms, no legs

沒手沒腳的 Nick Vujicic 之故事

My name is Nick Vujicic and I give God the Glory for how He has used my testimony
to touch thousands of hearts around the world! I was born without limbs and doctors
have no medical explanation for this birth "defect". As you can imagine, I was faced
with many challenges and obstacles.

"Consider it pure joy, my Brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."

....To count our hurt, pain and struggle as nothing but pure joy? As my parents were
Christians, and my Dad even a Pastor of our church, they knew that verse very well.
However, on the morning of the 4th of December 1982 in Melbourne (Australia), the
last two words on the minds of my parents was "Praise God!". Their firstborn son had
been born without limbs! There were no warnings or time to prepare themselves for it.
The doctors we shocked and had no answers at all! There is still no medical reason
why this had happened and Nick now has a Brother and Sister who were born just like
any other baby.

The whole church mourned over my birth and my parents were absolutely devastated.
Everyone asked, "if God is a God of Love, then why would God let something this
bad happen to not just anyone, but dedicated Christians?" My Dad thought I wouldn't
survive for very long, but tests proved that I was a healthy baby boy just with a few
limbs missing.

Understandably, my parents had strong concern and evident fears of what kind of life
I'd be able to lead. God provided them strength, wisdom and courage through those
early years and soon after that I was old enough to go to school.
The law in Australia didn't allow me to be integrated into a main-stream school
because of my physical disability. God did miracles and gave my Mom the strength to
fight for the law to be changed. I was one of the first disabled students to be integrated
into a main-stream school.

I liked going to school, and just try to live life like everyone else, but it was in my
early years of school where I encountered uncomfortable times of feeling rejected,
weird and bullied because of my physical difference. It was very hard for me to get
used to, but with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes and values
which helped me overcome these challenging times. I knew that I was different but on
the inside I was just like everyone else. There were many times when I felt so low that
I wouldn't go to school just so I didn't have to face all the negative attention. I was
encouraged by my parents to ignore them and to try start making friends by just
talking with some kids. Soon the students realized that I was just like them, and
starting there God kept on blessing me with new friends.

There were times when I felt depressed and angry because I couldn't change the way I
was, or blame anyone for that matter. I went to Sunday School and learnt that God
loves us all and that He cares for you. I understood that love to a point as a child, but I
didn't understand that if God loved me why did He make me like this? Is it because I
did something wrong? I thought I must have because out of all the kids at school, I'm
the only weird one. I felt like I was a burden to those around me and the sooner I go,
the better it'd be for everyone. I wanted to end my pain and end my life at a young age,
but I am thankful once again, for my parents and family who were always there to
comfort me and give me strength.

Due to my emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self esteem and
loneliness, God has implanted a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help
others cope with whatever challenge they have in their life and let God turn it into a
blessing. To encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let
anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams.
One of the first lessons that I have learnt was not to take things for granted.

"And we know that in all things God works for the best for those who love Him."

That verse spoke to my heart and convicted me to the point where that I know that
there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that these "bad" things happen in
our life.

I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life
unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Christ at the age
of fifteen after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was
"so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." I truly believed that God
would heal me so I could be a great testimony of His Awesome Power. Later on I was
given the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll
happen in His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then I know that He has
something better.
I now see that Glory revealed as He is using me just the way I am and in ways others
can't be used.

I am now twenty-three years old and have completed a Bachelor of Commerce
majoring in Financial Planning and Accounting. I am also a motivational speaker and
love to go out and share my story and testimony wherever opportunities become
available. I have developed talks to relate to and encourage students through topics
that challenge today's teenagers. I am also a speaker in the corporate sector.

I have a passion for reaching out to youth and keep myself available for whatever God
wants me to do, and wherever He leads, I follow.

I have many dreams and goals that I have set to achieve in my life. I want to become
the best witness I can be of God's Love and Hope, to become an international
inspirational speaker and be used as a vessel in both Christian and non-Christian
venues. I want to become financially independent by the age of 25, through real estate
investments, to modify a car for me to drive and to be interviewed and share my story
on the "Oprah Winfrey Show"! Writing several best-selling books has been one of my
dreams and I hope to finish writing my first by the end of the year. It will be called
"No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!"

I believe that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and if it's God's will,
you will achieve it in good time. As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves
for no reason at all! What's worse is putting limits on God who can do all things. We
put God in a "box". The awesome thing about the Power of God, is that if we want to

do something for God, instead of focusing on our capability, concentrate on our
availability for we know that it is God through us and we can't do anything without
Him. Once we make ourselves available for God's work, guess whose capabilities we
rely on? God's!

May the Lord Bless you

In Christ,

Nick Vujicic

Nick Vujicic

‘No arms, no legs, no worries’

By Ruth Schenk | rschenk@secc.org

Last summer, thousands of Kenyans packed into a
Nairobi church to hear Nick Vujicic, a handsome
Australian with a booming voice. Before the
service began, friends lifted him onto a table at
the front of the sanctuary where he shared a little
about his life without arms or legs.

No one knew why he was born without limbs.
Doctors were as shocked as Vujicic’s parents,
devout Christians who planted a church in
Australia 11 months before Vujicic was born. They
knew every word of Romans 8:28: "In all things,
God works for the good of those who love Him,"
but it was hard to understand how God could use
their son’s loss for good.

"Even though my parents were Christians, the last
words on their minds the day I was born were
‘Praise God," Vujicic said.

Some people dared to ask tough questions. As he
grew older, Vujicic asked them, too. He read in
Sunday school about being made in God’s image.

That seemed like a cruel joke. He seesawed
between despair and begging God to grow arms
and legs for him. He reasoned that a miracle
would draw massive attention to God’s power.
In the early years, Vujicic wasn’t allowed to go to
public school in Australia because of his disability.
His mother fought for the law to be changed, but as hard as she fought for that privilege,
school created a host of new problems. Kids bullied and teased. Most activities were out of
reach.

"I liked going to school, but that was where I encountered times of feeling rejected, weird and
bullied because of my physical differences," Vujicic said. "I knew that I was different, but on
the inside, I was just like everyone else."

Vujicic contemplated suicide the year he turned 8.

He read Jer. 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

"But I said to God, what kind of hope and future do I have?" Vujicic recalled.

When he was 15, one story in the Bible answered one of his toughest questions.

"When I read the story about the blind man in the Bible who asked Jesus why he was born
that way, Jesus said he was born so that the work of God could be revealed through him,"
Vujicic said. "That gave me peace. I said, ‘Lord, here I am. Use me. Mold me. Make me the
man you want me to be.’"

Since then, he has stopped thinking of his condition as a birth defect.

"I see this as a gift that God is using in my life to bring people from far and near to hear my
story and the hope we can have in Jesus. I know that even if I save one person from giving
up, then my work here is done," he said.

Vujicic decided that he might be without limbs, but he would live without limits. He learned to
write using the two toes on a partial foot that protrudes from his body, type 45 words per

minute on his computer using the "heel and toe" method, throw tennis balls, answer the
phone, walk and swim. He invented ways to shave and brush his teeth. He cares for himself
and gets around in a special chair with a seat that lifts and lowers.

He earned double degrees in accounting and financial planning by age 21.

Self-pity has no place in Vujicic’s message. He weaves his story with humor.

When he enters a rooms, he says, "I’d love to shake your hand, but I don’t have any."
He told a crowd, "A boy came up to me and asked what happened. I said, ‘Cigarettes,’
because I love to freak kids out."

In the last five years, Vujicic has shared his story as a preacher /evangelist in 12 countries
across Africa and Southeast Asia. In India, crowds of more than 100,000 packed an
auditorium to hear his story. He drew large crowds in Indonesia where 80 percent of the
population is Muslim.

Vujicic’s message is far from a stop-your-complaining, look-at-my-life-scenario about
comparing suffering.

It’s more about trusting God in all circumstances.

"If I can trust in God with my circumstances, then you can trust in God with your
circumstances," he said. "We know that God’s grace is sufficient, and if he doesn’t answer
your prayers, just know that He is with you and that’s the message—‘Fear not for I am with
you.’"

Vujicic began speaking in churches and convention centers two years ago. It began after a
retreat.

George Miksa, who works at Life Without Limbs, the 501c3 organization formed two years ago,
said Vujicic’s message reaches hearts in a profound way.

"Nick’s approach to life is complete victory," he said. "He encourages us to look at our biggest
obstacles. He encourages people to never give up and tells them that God gives the strength
to get up again. Response is amazing."

Vujicic has a special message for teenagers.

"When people put you down, get a second opinion," he said. "You get a second opinion with
medical issues, so why not get a second opinion in the Word of God? People called me names
when I was a child, but the Word of God says I’m a child of the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. That’s who I am. I have a purpose, which is hope. No one can argue with my smile. No
one can argue with my joy. No one can argue with my strength. And you know, it’s not my
strength. You know that it is God’s strength made perfect in weakness."

Vujicic already has a packed schedule next year. He also will release his first book, No Arms,
No Legs, No Worries.

"Not having arms and legs has gotten me into some doors I would not have been able to walk
through."

Learn more about Nick Vujicic at www.lifewithoutlimbs.org.