Episode 16-From Broken to Called with Nick Vujicic

*This episode contains adult themes.

“We don't know what God can do with broken pieces until you give Him those broken pieces.” -Nick Vujicic 

Joining Aliza today is Nick Vujicic—an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and powerful speaker whose life story has inspired millions around the world and is the subject of the upcoming film No Limbs, No Limits. Born without arms and legs, he opens up about the deep depression and suicidal thoughts he experienced growing up, and how faith completely transformed his outlook on life. In this conversation, Nick shares how God met him in his brokenness and continues to use his story to bring hope to others who feel hopeless. He also reflects on his family life and the truth that nothing in your life is wasted when placed in God’s hands.

Resources: 

• Nick V Ministries
• No Limbs, No Limits Movie (In theaters Sept. 25, 2026)
• Become An Insider for No Limbs, No Limits
• Champions for the Brokenhearted: Answering God's Call to Love, Heal, and Transform Lives
• AMP Counseling
• Follow Aliza on:
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  • LinkedIn

Hashtags: #TheAMPcast #AlizaProkop #NickVujicic #NickVMinistries #ProLife #NoLimbsNoLimits #Healing #Trauma #Therapy #Counseling #Podcast #Podcasting #PodcastCommunity #PFCAudioVideo

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Today's episode contains adult themes that are not suitable for young children's ears. If you have little ones near you, please listen with headphones or come back and listen when they're not around.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Good evening. We begin tonight with an issue that continues to affect millions long after the original events have passed. Trauma. Mental health experts say trauma from earlier life experiences often resurfaces years later, influencing emotional responses, physical health, and relationships. While the incidents may be in the past, the body and brain can remain in a heightened state of survival.

SPEAKER_09 0:49

I wish I could just forget about everything that happened to me so long ago. But these memories haunt me.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

I know it's over, but it doesn't feel over. I need help, but I'm afraid to open up about my past.

SPEAKER_07 1:46

We are today at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, and we are on the floor of the area where everybody's talking, so you may hear a lot of booming noises and loud people and click-clack. So here we are. Click clack. Click clack. And today I have a guest that is amazing. Okay. His name is Nick Voyacich. Have you ever heard of him? Well, I think you have. But if you haven't, you will know him well after this. He has a movie coming out. He is a well-known person, and he's globally recognized. Australian American evangelist. You do have an accent.

SPEAKER_06 2:30

I do.

SPEAKER_07 2:31

Yeah, it's really cool.

SPEAKER_06 2:32

Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 2:33

He's an entrepreneur, a speaker, and an author, and he has inspired millions with his remarkable journey of faith and perseverance. Millions of people, Nick.

SPEAKER_06 2:44

11 million people face to face are being able to preach the gospel through Nick V Ministries, 87 countries, and out of 11 million people, roughly 1.5 million have given their life to Jesus. And uh we've had some incredible uh opportunities with presidents to preach the gospel on secular national television as well, and so it's it's been a great journey.

SPEAKER_07 3:06

It has. And we can't talk about the the movie without getting a little bit into your personal history, just a little bit. So you've openly shared about your past. What would you like to tell us about your history and where you got started?

SPEAKER_06 3:22

Well, um I'm very thankful for um life of course and parents that that took me home. I was born without limbs in Australia in 1982, and there was no medical reason as to why I was born this way. Okay. Um my parents were believers, but as you can imagine, that did definitely shake and test their faith. My dad actually was a pastor, a church planter back then. And um it was definitely a blessing to have a family who told me that God loves me, that I'm special, that you know they they love me. I have a brother and sister born after me, and uh there's no medical reason as to why I was born this way. And the doctors apologized to my mum saying we we wish that we could have picked the disability up in the sonogram, we could have given you an option to abort the child. Your child's not gonna have a good quality of life, he's never gonna walk. I have a little uh foot on the bottom left of my torso, a little appendage, and with that little foot with two toes, I'm able now to walk and and become very independent.

SPEAKER_04 4:29

Wow.

SPEAKER_06 4:30

But little did everyone know that God can use a little boy with no arms and no legs to be his hands and feet one day and talk about the one thing that he at one stage didn't believe he had, which was hope. And so um went to school.

SPEAKER_07 4:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 4:45

I was the first special needs child to be integrated into the mainstream school system of Australia in the 1980s, and then got bullied. Everyone gets bullied. Of course, and I knew I had no limbs, but I didn't think it was such a big deal until I actually got teased and bullied. And you know, everyone asks you when you're little, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I'm like, Well, I don't know. I don't think I'm gonna get a job, I don't think I'm gonna get married, I don't think I'm gonna be happy. And so at age eight, unfortunately, in that depression, I was very I hated God. Um, I blamed him for my pain. I blamed him for not changing my pain. Yes, I was um bitter because he didn't give me the plan, like we always want to know what the plan is. God, what's the plan? And when he was silent, I actually had um planned out my suicide from age eight and attempted suicide at 10. And so I tried to drown myself in my family bathtub, uh, believing that there was nothing much looking like that I could look forward to. And uh the way that the two turning points of my life turned around for anyone who doesn't know who Jesus is, it was not motivation, it was not intellect, it was not trying to find a career path, but it was my soul being saved and my my heart being healed and my mind being renewed. And it was at age 15 that I actually read John chapter 9, A Man was Born Blind. And um, I realized if God had a plan for a blind man, then God's got a plan for me.

SPEAKER_04 6:15

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 6:16

And uh, if he gave me the plan, then I don't need faith because then I'm following the plan. So I need just faith to believe that he's got the plan. And believe it or not, then I became vice president of my high school. I did a speech, and the janitor heard me and he pulled me aside that week and he said, Are you a Christian? I said, Yes. He said, Well, God's gonna take you all around the world to speak.

SPEAKER_07 6:38

Wow.

SPEAKER_06 6:38

And I said, What are you talking about? And what am I gonna speak about? He said, Your story. And I laughed, and I said, I didn't have a story. He says, Yes, you do.

SPEAKER_07 6:47

Yes, you do.

SPEAKER_06 6:47

So he actually was the first person God used to actually arrange a speech for me to speak about who I was before I met Jesus, how I met him, and what that means for me today. And uh from that day on, um, he's now taken me all around the world and moved from Australia to US. Me and my beautiful wife, her name's Kane. She's half Japanese, half Mexican. We call that Japsican. Oh. And it was love at first sight. We met in Texas and we now reside north of Dallas with our four beautiful kids: 13-year-old son, 10-year-old son, and twin girls who are eight. And uh I I realize now arms and legs don't make you happy. It's not about a circumstantial change, it's not also getting um an affirmation from the world that you're good enough now on some kind of level. Right. Um, but it's knowing that we're we're children of God and God's got a plan, and the the thing that's missing in us can only be filled with Jesus. And so I always tell people when you don't get a miracle, you can still be one. Um I do pray for limbs still. I have pairs of shoes in my closet in case he says yes. I have seen the supernatural, um, both the demonic realm and the uh and God's power and seeing blind people seeing and deaf people hearing and lame people walking. We've seen a lot around the world in 87 travels and uh 87 countries. But I just want everyone to know that God has a plan and no limbs no limits means it's not about what I can do, it's what God can do through us if we allow Him to.

SPEAKER_07 8:23

That's right. And you No Limbs No Limits is the name of his movie that's coming out. Before I ask you about that, I did want to ask you one other thing. What would you say to someone right now? I'm a trauma therapist, so trauma's kind of my thing. And I have a lot of people that thanks for what you do. Thank you. A lot of people that don't have your type of trauma, but they have others. They have other traumas. So they they either minimize their trauma, it's not that big of a deal. Yeah. Or they stay in the victim mode. What would you say to that person on either end of the spectrum?

SPEAKER_06 8:57

Well, first and foremost, um, I don't understand your pain. You know, one out of three girls have been sexually abused by age 17, one out of five boys by age 17, and I I can't imagine even just being in a broken home.

SPEAKER_07 9:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 9:09

I think just being in a broken home is even worse than having no limbs. And so, first and foremost, I don't understand your pain, and I never will tell you that I do. But what I will say is God will not waste it. What we must understand is that this is the dominion of the devil, and we aren't to blame him for the pain. Right. Um, but God can turn it together for the good where God can use me pretty powerfully for another limbless boy. If you've been through trauma and you go through counseling and your heart's healed and your mind's renewed, God can use you more powerfully than a global evangelist because you know how that feels. And someone uh who's only been there can tell you, you know what, I've been through that too, but God healed me. Don't give up. I thought of giving up, but don't you give up because I got through it. God's gonna get you through this, and I'm gonna walk this through with you. Absolutely. So whether we played the victim card or don't think it's such a big deal, let me tell you, I just went through counseling in 2021. Um, I had a very difficult 2019, 2020, 2021, and it actually unearthed some trauma in me that I'd never really addressed.

SPEAKER_07 10:27

You were surprised.

SPEAKER_06 10:28

I was very surprised. And so, first and foremost, when you play the victim card, it doesn't do anything for you. You need to address what you need to address. Right. And I'm sorry, but again, that we have a world full of problems, and I can't imagine what they're going through in your trauma. But for as long as you stay in that corner of the victim corner, you're gonna miss out. Like I could have done that.

SPEAKER_07 10:55

You could have.

SPEAKER_06 10:55

I really easily could have done that. Yes, you could have. Look at what I would have missed out on preaching to a billion people digitally, a wife and four kids.

SPEAKER_07 11:03

Exactly. You would have missed out, and we would have missed out on you.

SPEAKER_06 11:06

So we don't know what God can do with broken pieces until you give him those broken pieces. That's right. And never underestimate that pebble in your shoe. That pebble in your shoe, it is a big deal. It needs to be addressed. You can't just pray it away, you can't just ignore it. There are so many Christians who are saved but bleeding on their way to their grave. Exactly. And that's not what God wants. He wants us healed and restored. We need the church to start talking about some of these traumas.

SPEAKER_07 11:33

Exactly. And that was I did a couple episodes with Dr. Mark Mayfield. I don't know if you're familiar with him, but um, it's about how the church addresses trauma.

SPEAKER_06 11:42

And how they don't.

SPEAKER_07 11:44

That is exactly what we talked about, or how we give a very trite kind of answer, and and it then makes the person feel as if it's their fault if they're not 100% better right away.

SPEAKER_06 11:55

So then I need to mention this. So when you go to nickvee ministries.org, we actually just released a book called Champions for the Broken Hearted. Okay. And um on that website, we also I've written out 106 different ways in how a human being can suffer, and we chose 12 and actually shared testimonials and stories and helping the church to have the conversation as the church within these things, from abuse to bully to suicide to veterans to disabled to the poor and the widow, widowers, and the foster kids, and all of that.

SPEAKER_07 12:25

So yeah, I see them when they come to me and they're a lot of church hurt, a lot of things like that are happening too. Not to fault churches or anything, but I do get a percent of them, you can. I do get, yeah, I would have to agree with you on that.

SPEAKER_06 12:39

Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_07 12:40

Um now your movie that's coming out.

SPEAKER_06 12:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 12:43

When is it? I I think it said September.

SPEAKER_06 12:46

September 25th, this year.

SPEAKER_07 12:47

2026. Correct. 925, 26.

SPEAKER_06 12:50

It's gonna be in cinemas all across America.

SPEAKER_07 12:52

And I'm gonna be there.

SPEAKER_06 12:53

Awesome.

SPEAKER_07 12:53

I'm going. Thank you. Opening day. Thank you. I'm gonna make sure I'm there. This is amazing.

SPEAKER_06 12:59

Thank you. And we've got home footage of me, my mom being interviewed recently, you know, and just unearthing the the with raw, vulnerable transparency. How difficult it really was.

SPEAKER_07 13:13

It had to be hard. I mean, to see that's a pri and your wife, how did your wife feel about your privacy being kind of out there?

SPEAKER_06 13:21

When me and my wife met, she knew that we're gonna be in in the public eye. And you know, we counted the cost and and uh we're still surprised with what that means for us today. Yeah. Um, but we we felt that that's an investment that's eternally uh fruitful.

SPEAKER_07 13:36

Absolutely. And you mentioned you've seen the you know, God works and the demonic. Have you had any obstacles in making this film? I I that's not on my list, but I have to ask that question. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to. Somebody doesn't want this film to come out. Am I right? He's shaking his head yes.

SPEAKER_06 13:55

We've had we've had opposition.

SPEAKER_07 13:58

Yes, we'll just say that. But you have had opposition. I don't mean that someone came out and said, No, no, no.

SPEAKER_06 14:04

I laugh because I can't tell you how difficult it has been.

SPEAKER_07 14:07

But it's been difficult.

SPEAKER_06 14:08

It's been really difficult.

SPEAKER_07 14:09

How are you dealing with that? That's traumatic, right?

SPEAKER_06 14:12

We're still dealing with the opposition right now.

SPEAKER_07 14:14

Well, it's coming out on 9 25 26. That's right, boom. You're you're gonna be in the theaters and we're all gonna be there.

SPEAKER_06 14:21

It's gonna be incredible. It really is gonna be incredible. Yeah, it is. We're right now writing four different sermons for churches to actually lead up to the release. We want church churches to engage through sermons and youth groups and stuff. You know, the messaging is gonna be, you know, if if if God can use a man without arms and legs to be his hands and feet, then God can use you. Yes. Um, you know, when God says no to a prayer, what does that mean? How is he good? Um, to all different types of definitely like the identity and value, especially for the young, you know, generation and understanding you're beautiful just the way that God made you.

SPEAKER_07 14:58

And women don't believe that. We all get facelifts and all you know, what would you say to uh women that want to look like the models on TV?

SPEAKER_06 15:08

You know, we definitely uh uh are surrounded with so many uh countless ways to be positioned where we are almost tempted to uh constantly compare social media. I mean it's it's terrible. Yeah, it is. It's not just the kids, it's not just teens, it's the adults. It is and then that's also with the money, yeah, the house, the car, the job, the title, and how you look on the outside.

SPEAKER_07 15:37

Right.

SPEAKER_06 15:37

Yeah, look, un unfortunately, I think we we need to go back to the basics.

SPEAKER_07 15:42

We do.

SPEAKER_06 15:43

You know, we really do. We need to go back and actually read the Bibles with our family and go back to the rock of truth.

SPEAKER_07 15:50

And pray. I pray every morning and every evening with my husband. He called this morning before my first interview, I forgot. I ran out of the hotel before we forgot to pray. So he called me right before the interview. So he he's he's been a rock, and it sounds like your wife is the same.

SPEAKER_06 16:08

She is, she is, and every week we actually read the Bible as a family together outside of going to church. And I think what's beautiful if you do have a family and you're listening, every year we actually do what we call a vision board. Yes, and so we kind of look at the different areas of life faith, family, friends, finance, fitness, fun, and um we we pray for one another. That's awesome. We hope for one another. Yes. And we're we're a team.

SPEAKER_07 16:35

You're a cheerleader for each other, it's not a detractor.

SPEAKER_06 16:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_07 16:39

What do you do for fun?

SPEAKER_06 16:40

Uh we actually love being at home or the beach when we go when we can. Uh, we like Cancun and we were just in Florida this week. My family is outdoors. We got some chickens and cows. Uh we we like uh lighting up fires and looking at the starry sky night, and we like to play board games.

SPEAKER_07 17:01

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_06 17:01

As a family, you know, time won't stop, time goes fast. It does. And I'm actually going through a massive transitional year right now where uh daddy's traveling less, my oldest is 13. Okay, and so we're still gonna go preach the gospel when it's for the tens of millions on national television and with presidents. Um but our biggest ministry is our home, and they're only young once.

SPEAKER_07 17:28

That's very true. That is very true. Because when they grow up, minor in their twenties, you miss them.

SPEAKER_06 17:34

You miss them.

SPEAKER_07 17:35

You miss them.

SPEAKER_06 17:35

You'll always miss them.

SPEAKER_07 17:36

I will all I love them, and I know you love your kids, and you think about it as they grow up. I don't have any regrets. I stayed home with them. I was awesome. I was what a blessing. My father was a psychologist and wanted me to be in practice with him. Yep. And I wouldn't. Yep. And now I'm doing this. So I love it.

SPEAKER_06 17:53

Yeah. Um my wife's with them, um, homeschooling, hybrid. Cool. Um, but yeah, I I feel the hunger as they're getting older. For them to be with me, it's now physically hurting me every time I leave just because I know how much they miss.

SPEAKER_07 18:09

Do you have to be here all week?

SPEAKER_06 18:11

I am here on until Thursday, yeah. But that's okay.

SPEAKER_07 18:14

Oh, that's all right. Then you can take you just came back from Florida, so that's good. You have a nice tan.

SPEAKER_06 18:19

Thank you very much. Yeah, you do. We just had our anniversary and my my son's 13th, so it was good. We had some family time.

SPEAKER_07 18:25

Good. You need that.

SPEAKER_06 18:26

Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 18:27

And this movie, what else do you want to tell us about it or tell my audience? Anything else they need to know?

SPEAKER_06 18:32

Yeah, if anyone's familiar with The Chosen and how they engaged uh a lot of crowd and um churches and and small groups with that, uh, we kind of want to have that same approach. We're right now gauging interest from people who want to be engaged in the future raises uh for marketing raise, kind of like a crowd fund that's coming. And so that website, if you go to nickvfilm.com, nickvfilm.com will take you there. And then if you want to check out the trailer, you can go to nickvteam.com and sign up for any announcements there.

SPEAKER_07 19:13

And I did see when I did some research on you, there's a uh documentary on you. I didn't get to see it.

SPEAKER_06 19:18

I am going to. That's yeah, that that is the film. Um No Limbs, No Limits, a Life Story Documentary. And uh we're thankful that hopefully this is the beginning of a new track for the next 20 years of my life, less planes and more media. We hope to you'll like this and appreciate this. We uh a dream of mine now is to actually um go into productions and do documentaries to wake up the church. Wow, and also to do an animation on me as a cartoon for kids. Wouldn't that be if you can imagine kind of like a C.S. Lewis meets Billy Graham meets Mr. Rogers.

SPEAKER_07 19:57

That's meets Nick V.

SPEAKER_06 19:59

There you go. That's kind of what Nick V is gonna look like.

SPEAKER_07 20:01

That's the one we want to meet here.

SPEAKER_06 20:03

That's that's Mr.

SPEAKER_07 20:04

Rogers. We all know about him. He's okay, Mr. Rogers. We got that.

SPEAKER_06 20:08

No hand puppers with me.

SPEAKER_07 20:10

We want to know. Okay, Nick. Nick is also very comical. I am a jokester, Nick.

SPEAKER_06 20:18

Thank you. I'm a sit-down comedian.

SPEAKER_07 20:20

I really gotta love you, Nick. Thank you very much. I want to thank you. I know you're popular and you're everywhere, and I'm just a girl from Ohio.

SPEAKER_06 20:29

So which part of Ohio?

SPEAKER_07 20:30

Northeast Ohio, a little town called Viana. It's between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_06 20:36

Yeah, I'm going to Cleveland soon. I love Ohio. I have a lot of friends and family in Ohio. I love Ohio in the U.S. In Akron in Goth.

SPEAKER_07 20:42

In Akron? In Akron. My father was born in Madh. Medina. Medina. My dad was born in Akron. Yep. Akron is Akron is quite the place these days. It's uh lots of construction, lots of things going on. My grandfather retired from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Yep.

SPEAKER_06 21:00

Yeah. Yep. Well, hey, thank you so much for having me. And thank you for your ministry and say hello to your hubby.

SPEAKER_07 21:05

I will. And say hello to your wife. I would love to meet her someday.

SPEAKER_06 21:08

Thank you. Thank you. I'll leave your audience with this because I'm sure because I know now more about your ministry. Yes. My wife and I, we we ask each other every month three questions. What am I doing that you want me to stop doing? What am I not doing you want me to start doing?

SPEAKER_07 21:26

Really love it.

SPEAKER_06 21:26

And what am I doing well that you want me to keep on doing?

SPEAKER_07 21:29

Even better. You are like a marriage therapist too.

SPEAKER_06 21:32

We want to write well, we have a book about love, but yeah, we we would like to write a book about marriage and parenting and all that. But that can go for any relationship. So within your home. Right. No matter how old your daughter is or young your daughter is, imagine if you could actually have that conversation. Like, how do I really annoy you that I don't even realize?

SPEAKER_07 21:52

It means that you're committed to that relationship and you're willing to do whatever it takes and you love them. And when I tell my clients, if you put him first. And you put her first, you don't need me. So good. Right?

SPEAKER_03 22:03

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 22:04

And you know what that rule is, right? When both of you think that you're doing 60% of the work, it's about right.

SPEAKER_07 22:10

Thank you so much. And that's all the time we have. Thank you, Nick, for being here. Oh, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_06 22:17

It was my pleasure. It was a joy.

SPEAKER_07 22:18

It really was.

SPEAKER_06 22:19

Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 22:20

So, all right. Well, that's all the time we have from the floor of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. I got it right this time.

SPEAKER_05 22:27

Well done.

SPEAKER_07 22:28

And we'll see you again on the next episode of the Ampcast.

SPEAKER_03 22:35

You've been listening to the Amp Cast with Elisa Marie ProCop. To find out more, go to AmpCounseling.com. You can discover more information about all our services that we offer. Be sure to follow our social media platforms using the icons at the bottom of the page. Don't forget to check out our show notes for today's episode, where we will have links and contact info for today's guests. Well, that's all the time we have for this episode. Thanks for joining us, and we will see you next time for another edition of the Amp Cast with Elisa Marie Pro Cop Dealing and Healing from Trauma.