Nick Vujicic

Nick Vujicic
Vujicic in 2021
Born
Nicholas James Vujicic

(1982-12-04) 4 December 1982 (age 42)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
CitizenshipAustralia
United States
Alma materGriffith University
Occupations
Years active2004–2022
Spouse
Kanae Miyahara
​
(m. 2012)​
Children4
Websitenickvujicic.com

Nicholas James Vujicic (/ˈvuːɪtʃɪtʃ/ VOO-itch-itch;[1] born 4 December 1982)[2][3] is an Australian-American[4] Christian evangelist and motivational speaker of Serbian descent. Vujicic has tetra-amelia syndrome, a condition characterised by the absence of arms and legs.[5]

Early life

Vujicic was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982 to Dušanka and Borislav Vujičić, Serbian immigrants from Yugoslavia.[6][7] He was raised Serbian Orthodox in his earliest years, but the family later converted to Protestantism.[8] Vujicic's father is a pastor.[9] Vujicic was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disability characterised by the absence of arms and legs.[10]

According to Vujicic's autobiography, his mother refused to see him or hold him immediately after his birth; instead, she and her husband left the hospital. He was bullied at school because of his medical condition. At one point, Vujicic attempted to commit suicide by drowning himself in a bathtub, but he was saved.[11] While Vujicic's parents initially struggled with grief and confusion about his condition, they "raised him to look at the bright side of life".[9]

Originally, the toes of one of Vujicic's feet were fused. An operation was performed to separate the toes so that he can use them as fingers. Vujicic refers to this foot as his "chicken drumstick".[12][10]

When Vujicic was 17 years old, he started giving inspirational talks at school and church-sponsored events.[13]

Vujicic graduated from Griffith University at the age of 21 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree,[better source needed] with a double major in accountancy and financial planning.[14]

Ministry

Vujicic is a Christian and an evangelist. He travels and speaks about his testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. His ministry is known as Life Without Limbs.[15] As of 2008, the ministry was based in southern California.[9]

Vujicic appeared on the ABC television show 20/20 in 2008.[9]

Vujicic starred in the short film The Butterfly Circus (2009).[16][17] At the 2010 Method Fest Independent Film Festival, he was awarded Best Actor in a Short Film for his starring performance.[18]

Vujicic's first book, Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life, was published by Random House in 2010 and has been translated into 30 languages.[19]

Vujicic is opposed to abortion.[10] In 2021, he co-founded ProLife Bank.[4]

In 2022, Vujicic launched a new ministry initiative called "Champions for the Brokenhearted". The goal of the project is to "support particular disaffected groups in need".[10]

Personal life

Vujicic speaking to students in Florida in 2015

Vujicic married Kanae Miyahara on 12 February 2012.[20] As of 2017, Vujicic and his wife have two sons and two daughters.[21][22][23] The family resides in Southern California.[24]

Without any limbs, Vujicic is able to type 43 words per minute on a computer, by using his toes, slightly above the average for non-professional typists.[25][26]

Books and publications

  • Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life (201; ISBN 978-0307589743
  • Your Life Without Limits (2012); ISBN 978-0307731043
  • Limitless: Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life (2013); ISBN 978-0307730916
  • Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action (2013); ISBN 978-0307730893
  • The Power of Unstoppable Faith (2014); ISBN 978-1601426765
  • Stand Strong (2015); ISBN 978-1601427823
  • Love Without Limits (2016); ISBN 978-1601426185
  • Be the Hands and Feet: Living Out God's Love for All His Children, February 13, 2018; ISBN 978-1601426208

See also

References

  1. ^ "Overcoming hopelessness" on YouTube
  2. ^ Vujicic, Nick. "Nick Vujicic: Spreading Hope Worldwide". Nickvujicic.com. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Life With Limbs: About Nick Vujicic". Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  4. ^ a b "'Taking America Back for God': Evangelist Nick Vujicic Co-Founds ProLife Bank to Fight Back against Abortion". ChristianHeadlines.com.
  5. ^ "Nick Vujicic - Attitude Is Altitude.com and Life Without Limbs.org | Beenleigh Corps | The Salvation Army Australia". www.salvationarmy.org.au. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Nick Vujicic – The Man Who Has Inspired Millions - World Top Updates". Worldtopupdates.com. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. ^ Z. Lazarević (18 September 2012). "Roditelji Nika Vujičića u Beogradu: Drago nam je što smo u zemlji naših predaka". Blic.rs. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  8. ^ Akinnibi, Felix (8 April 2024). "Nick Vujicic: 20 Things you didn't know about Australian evangelist and motivational speaker". Centre Disability Support. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Riley, Jennifer (30 March 2008). "Limbless Evangelist Preaches Joy In Christ". The Christian Post.
  10. ^ a b c d Popa, Michael (21 January 2022). "Disability and destiny: Nick Vujicic". usustatesman.com.
  11. ^ Vujicic, Nick. "A Life of Value," Life Without Limits, Doubleday, 2010.
  12. ^ "Nick Vujicic On Hopelessness And His Childhood – Part 1". UniversityHerald.com. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  13. ^ Riley, Jennifer (30 March 2008). "Limbless Evangelist Preaches Joy in Christ". Christian Post Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  14. ^ "The World's best-known Motivational Speaker Nick Vujicic Today in BiH". Sarajevo Times. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Nick Vujicic". World Economic Forum. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Butterfly Circus Wins The Doorpost Film Project's $100,000 First Prize". 168project.blogspot.com. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  17. ^ "The Butterfly Circus Takes Top Prize at Doorpost | MovieMaker Magazine". archive.md. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  18. ^ "2010 Method Fest, Independent Film Festival, Calabasas, California". Methodfest.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  19. ^ Muteshi, Musabi (14 April 2015). "Being someone else's miracle: Rwanda's story". The New Times Rwanda. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  20. ^ "How Nick Vujicic Met His Wife? What Qualities Attracted Him to Kanae Miyahara?". christianpost.com. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  21. ^ "Nick Vujicic Biography -Motivational Speaker Without Limbs". Insbright. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Motivational Speaker, Nick Vujicic Born Without Limbs Welcomes Twin Girls With Wife". National Helm. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  23. ^ "Limbless Evangelist Nick Vujicic Announces Birth of Twin Daughters Ahead of Christmas: 'Thank You God!'". GospelHerald.com. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  24. ^ "Nick Vujicic shares family's excitement in awaiting arrival of second son". Christiantoday.com. August 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  25. ^ "With God, a life without limbs is a life without limits, preacher declares". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  26. ^ Karat CM, Halverson C, Horn D, Karat J (1999). "Patterns of entry and correction in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition systems". Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '99). New York, NY, US: ACM. pp. 568–575. doi:10.1145/302979.303160. ISBN 0-201-48559-1.

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