War Cry - April 28, 2012 Page 13

The War Cry / April 28, 2012

spread through the village, so they

bury the child alive. Since my visit, we've had

reports of people allowing disabled kids to grow up and
know that God loves them, that they're not a mistake."

THREE CRUCIAL TRUTHS

When speaking to

students and especially teenagers, Nick uses his sense
of humor as a way to engage them. His sense of
humor can be partly attributed to his positive rela-
tionship with his younger siblings, Aaron and
Michelle, and 26 first cousins. In
fact, it was Michelle who first la-
beled Nick's small foot with two
toes attached to his left hip a
"little chicken drumstick."

This "drumstick" enables

Nick to, among other things,
operate a smart phone. Various
comedy routines involving his
foot break the ice and relieve
tension in every situation.
Humor then opens the door for
Nick to share his life� chang-
ing message. "God hasn't for-
gotten you, you're wonderfully
and fearfully made (see Psalm 139), and God's got a
plan for your life (see Jeremiah 29:11)," he says.

Now based in California, Nick has spoken at

1,500 engagements worldwide through his two non�
profit organizations, Life Without Limbs and Atti-
tude is Altitude. Wherever he travels his aim is
always the same. "I try to take people on a journey of
discovering the truth about three things: their value,
their purpose and their destiny. If people don't know
any of the three, they are more disabled than me."

he read the gospel story of

a man born blind. Jesus told the man

he was not born blind because his parents had done

bad things, but so that God's purposes could be re-
vealed by restoring his sight (see John:9).

"I said, `OK, God, if you've got a plan for a blind

man, you've got a plan for me.' Just because the
blind man didn't know what that plan was didn't
mean he didn't have one." Nick discovered God's
plan for him after his talk at the Australian high
school. He was to become an inspirational speaker
and evangelist. To that end, he has traveled across
Australia sharing his message with almost 900
schools and youth groups.

Impressive as that is, it's not all the 28�year�

old has accomplished. Nick has earned a double de-
gree in accounting and financial planning, spoken
in 38 countries to more than four million people, met
four heads of state, been nominated as Australian
of the Year and even acted in a short film, "The But-
terfly Circus." These accomplishments--many
achieved over the past decade--have led to rare op-
portunities and highlights.

LIFTING CURSES

Once when Nick was speak-

ing in front of 10,000 Liberians, a mother lifted up her
four�week�old baby who had no arms. "I kissed the
baby on the forehead and prayed for the child," he re-
lates. A hush fell over the crowd.

"I had no idea why," he goes on to say. "Later, I

was informed that in some countries, when a child is
born with a disability it is seen as cursed. The reason
why the crowd gasped is that the baby should have
died by then. People fear that the curse is going to

BOR

N W

ITHO

UT A

RMS

OR LEGS, NICK VU

JICIC

ONC

E CON

SIDE

RED

SUIC

IDE.

NOW H

E HE

LPS

OTH

ERS

KNO

W T

HEY

ARE

NOT

A M

ISTA

KE.

Reprinted from Faith and Friends, March 2011. The

Salvation Army, Toronto, Canada. Used by permission.

Nick and wife Kanae
Miyahaon were mar-
ried in February 2012.

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