The Speaker

 

Vocabulary

antic	severe	couple (2)
viral	attitude	stand in his way
limb	tragedy	obviously
gift	expand	depression (2)
pray	misery	maturity
lack	consider	commit suicide
exist	drown	disability
pain	bathtub	sense (2)
alone	respond	confidence
blind	reveal	strike/struck (2)
bury	relate to	hold him back
weep	eternity	put her hand up
hug	shoulder	staggering
hope	arthritis	the way I am
expect	share (2)	come across
cope	heaven	interrupt
go viral	limbless	coping mechanism
give up	miracle

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Nick Vujicic is an internet sensation whose antics have gone viral, as he refuses to let severe disability stand in his way.

Nick Vujicic: “They call it phocomelia, which means a baby being born without limbs with no medical reason.

It was quite a tragedy and a shock to my parents; my doctors told them that I would not walk, and I would not go to school.

And my mom and dad being very strong believers in Jesus, saw me as obviously their little boy — but still a gift of God . . . just differently packaged.

It was about the age of five or six that I knew that I was different. And I started entering into a depression, at age eight.

I felt very sad. I felt very alone.

I prayed to God. I prayed that He would give me arms and legs.

And He didn’t respond.

And then His lack of response in the way that I thought He should have responded — I started believing that He didn’t love me.

I started believing that He didn’t exist . . . and maybe I was just born into misery.”

Nick got so depressed that he considered committing suicide at the age of 10.

Nick Vujicic: “I tried to drown myself in a bathtub. And there was only one thing: the pain that I would leave in my parents’ hearts and minds with them burying their limbless boy.

But then my confidence started growing … my maturity started expanding … and understanding that I had a choice: I could be simply angry for what I do not have; or be thankful for what I do have.

But what really struck me the most was when I was 15 years old, when my life changed forever: I read John Chapter Nine, a man was born blind — and no one knew why he was born that way.

And I’m like ‘Oh. I can relate to that’.

And Jesus said it was done so that the works of God would be revealed through him.

And I thought, ‘Wow! If Jesus had a plan for a blind man, then he has a plan for me’.”

Thanks to Nick’s faith and positive attitude, it seems like nothing can hold him back.

Nick Vujicic: “At age nineteen, I found myself in front of 300 sixteen-year-olds.

And I was speaking.

Within couple of minutes half the girls were crying — and then one girl in the middle of the room started weeping.

She put up her hand and she said, “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but can I come up there and give you a hug? She came up and she hugged me and she cried on my shoulder.

And she said, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. No one’s ever told me they loved me. And no one’s told me I’m beautiful the way that I am.

And that’s when I knew I was born to be a speaker.”

Nick has now taken his message of hope to a staggering 57 countries, and an audience of hundreds of millions, including thirteen presidents.

And now he has company on his travels: in 2012, he married Kanae; they’re expecting their second child this summer.

Nick Vujicic: “And we just wanted to share our story with everyone, my wife and I because we’ve come across a lot of people who are not happy . . . who have given up on themselves — and given up on love.

And we want them to NOT give up.

I look at the world we live in — and all the pain — and I say, ‘Without heaven, what do we have?’

It’s not a coping mechanism. But everything starts making more sense when our eyes are fixed on eternity.

I don’t need arms and legs for ninety years, because arms and legs are probably going to give me arthritis later on anyway.

But when you don’t get a miracle, you can still be a miracle for someone else.”

Questions

1. Nick Vujicic’s doctor said he would never walk. Did his prognosis become a reality?

2. Is Nick religious? Does he come from a religious family?

3. Had Nick always been upbeat, cheerful and optimistic, throughout his life?

4. Was there a turning point in Nick’s life? What was the turning point?

5. What motivates and drives him?

6. He gave his first speech when he was 19 years old. Is this correct or wrong? What happened then?

7. Does Nick have an occupation or profession? What does he say is a problem in the world?

8. What is his message to people?

9. He wishes he had arms and legs. He feels sorry that he is limbless. Yes or no?

 

A. Do you know anyone who is physically “disabled”? What are they doing?

B. I know people who feel miserable, frustrated, hopeless or disappointed. True or false? Why do they feel this way?

C. Do you find Nick Vujicic to be an inspiration? Why do many people feel inspired by him?

D. All my and my friends’ problems seem insignificant after learning about Nick. Do you agree?

E. Would you like Nick to come and speak to your school, company or organization? What can they learn from him?