Born Without Limbs, Refusing Limitations

March 27, 2008— -- The crowds that 25-year-old Nick Vujicic draws as an evangelist would have been unimaginable only a few years ago, and impossible had he been born under other circumstances.

"In some third world countries ... I would be seen as cursed, a shame to the family," said Vujicic (pronounced VOY-chich). "The possibilities of me being killed at my birth would have been quite high."

But Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs, does have one of the most powerful of all human attributes: a voice. Through the ministry he calls Life Without Limbs and a motivational program titled "Attitude is Altitude," Vujicic said he has made 1,600 speaking appearances in 12 nations.

"No matter who you are, no matter what you're going through, God knows it," he said. "He is with you. He is going to pull you through."

Like all skilled evangelists, he can imagine the deepest vulnerabilities of his listeners, especially among teenage audiences.

"I used to think that I needed my circumstance to change before I had any hope," he said. "I wanted to know that there was someone else out there in my position, to know that there is hope, that there is more than just the little box that I see in my life."

He cannot avoid the reasons why people are fascinated by his physical condition, and he uses it to his advantage in his speeches, often delivered from a tabletop in front of the audience. He says it lends credibility "to know that somebody has been through something, that they've learned something that you know you need to apply in your own life."

Vujicic was born in Brisbane, Australia, the son of Serbian immigrants. Doctors have never been able to determine why he was born with no limbs and only a small foot with two toes on his left side. His father is pastor of a local church, and because the cause of his condition was unknown, they spent months trying to figure out the reasons why.

"They went through different stages of grief and confusion. Why did this happen? Who made a mistake? They realized that doctors didn't make a mistake ... and my mom didn't do anything wrong in the pregnancy; and it was four months before they actually came to terms with it. It was something that the whole church was asking: why would something like that happen?"