Australian “Hope Evangelist” Nic Vujicic gives a lecture at Yonsei. "Only love helped me to overcome any limits and challenges that came to me, I am wealthy man, but my wealth is love, joy and peace in my heart.” Nic Vujicic, 28, who was born without limbs, gave a special lecture at Yonsei University on October 12. He is the author of “Hug (original title: The Life without Limits).” He said that his mission is to “show love and hope to more people in this world.” Vujicic was born in 1982 in Australia to Serbian parents. His father was a pastor. Nic was born with Phocomelia, a congenital deformity resulting from prenatal interference with the development of the fetal limbs, characterized especially by short stubby hands or feet attached close to the body. He was born without limbs, without both arms and legs, but a small left foot with two toes. He was overwhelmed with despair and tried committing suicide three times while he was still in elementary school. He said that he stopped the attempts to kill himself after visualizing his parents and siblings crying at his grave. He said that he did not want to bring them more sufferings. He also said that he started to have hope when he turned thirteen. He realized after reading an article about paraplegic that there are people who overcome challenges even greater than his. When Vujicic turned fifteen, he came upon the Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 9 where a visually impaired person comes out. Nic said that “when Jesus told him that ‘through him God can appear’ all my troubles were solved. I learned to make peace with my God and his world. I realized that he has plans for me and I felt peace.” With his parents’ support and encouragement, Nic attended regular school with everyone else and even became school president. He entered Logan Griffith University in Australia and majored in Accounting and Business. The pictures of him surfing and skateboarding are popular and viewed by thousands of people online. Currently, Nic is the representative for Life without Limbs in the United States. In the book, he discusses his life and challenges in details, and how he overcame difficulties and challenges. He also said that “I am a wealthy man; my wealth is happiness and joy, which I have a lot of. For me happiness does not mean bank account filled with money, but a heart filled with happiness.” In discussing his difficult adolescence, Nic encouraged the teenagers to overcome despair. He also said that “when you cannot make your parents proud, you feel despair similar to despair of being limbless.” He adds that he wishes to be a person who could give others “hugs and hopes.”