Every single night they came to this church in neck braces， on crutches， and in wheelchairs with hope for a healing. Two people with AIDS had been dragged on mattresses to the church. Others had walked four and five hours to get there. The back of the church was lined with crutches and wheelchairs that were said to have been left by those who’d been healed. My brother and I talked to a man whose leg and foot were swollen to nearly twice their normal size. He was in agony， but he‘d walked to this church to be healed.
Everyone wishes for the power to heal those in pain. I’ve certainly done my share of praying for a miracle to give me arms and legs. But my request has never been granted， and most of the people we met at that South African church did not get their miracles either. But that does not mean miracles cannot occur. My life may well qualify as a miracle someday， given that I‘ve been able to reach so many diverse audiences， speaking words of faith and inspiration. The fact that this Australian Christian of Serbian descent with no limbs has received invitations to speak from government leaders in Costa Rica， Colombia， Egypt， and China is no small miracle. I’ve met with Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Church and with the grand imam Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi， not to mention with leaders of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. My life is testimony to the fact that there are no limits other than those we impose upon ourselves！
Living without limits means knowing that you always have something to give， something that might ease the burden of others. Even small kindnesses and a few dollars can have a powerful impact. After the terrible earthquake in Haiti in 2010， the American Red Cross quickly set up a program for people to help right away. They made it possible to donate ten dollars by taking a cell phone and texting “HAITI” to the number 90999.
Now， ten dollars doesn‘t seem like much， and texting it didn’t take much effort. It was a small act of charity. But if you were one of those who participated， you made a huge difference. The last time I checked， according to the Red Cross， more than three million people made ten-dollar donations to Haiti on their cell phones. As a result， the Red Cross had received more than $32 million to finance its efforts to help the people of Haiti！
DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO BENEFIT OTHERS
Today my Life Without Limbs nonprofit organization helps support more than ten different charities， including the Apostolic Christian Church Foundation， which sends missionaries around the world； it operates orphanages and churches， including Bombay Teen Challenge in India， which I wrote about earlier in the book. We also partner with Joni and Friends to give away refurbished wheelchairs to people in need.
You can take whatever you love to do， and do it for the benefi t of others. Do you play tennis？ Ride a bike？ Love to dance？ Turn your favorite activity into philanthropy： a tennis tournament to benefit your local YMCA， a bike ride for the Boys and Girls Club， or a dance marathon to buy clothing for needy kids.
Hilary Lister loves sailing. At thirty-seven， she decided to try to sail solo around the island of Great Britain. She planned the fortyday sailing trip as a benefit for her charity， Hilary‘s Dream Trust， which helps disabled and disadvantaged adults learn to sail. She believes sailing can boost the spirits and confidence of people with disabilities.
Hilary’s belief in the healing power of sailing is based on personal experience. She has not had the use of her arms or legs since the age of fifteen because of a progressive neurological disorder. A quadriplegic with a degree from Oxford， she sails her custom-outfitted boat using a “sip and puff” system with three straws to operate the controls. One straw controls the tiller， while the others help her steer. She is the first quadriplegic sailor to solo-sail across the English Channel and around Britain.
ONE PERSON AT A TIME
Two years after our amazing experience in South Africa， I got an invitation to speak in Indonesia. The invitation came by e-mail from a gentleman in Perth whose nickname was Han-Han. He was of Chinese descent and pastor of a group of Indonesian churches in Australia.
Upon receiving his e-mail， I called Han-Han， and we spent hours on the phone discussing his proposal. He said my ministry was well known in Indonesia because of my DVDs and videos on the Internet. He offered to set up a speaking tour that would include appearances before tens of thousands of people each weekend. My parents and I prayed over his proposal， and they agreed that I should go， giving their blessings.
I never grow tired of seeing new parts of the world and meeting diverse people， experiencing their cultures and foods. Han-Han had put together a very demanding speaking schedule for me， and I began to have concerns about the rigorous timetable， especially when I discovered that the caregiver they‘d provided for me didn’t speak English. The language barrier became a huge problem when I developed a digestive virus. My caregiver‘s inability to understand me and my lack of fingers to gesture and give hand signs led to some very frustrating situations.
My hosts staged a very thoughtful party to celebrate my twenty-third birthday， but my stomach and I were not exactly in the mood for the festivities. I was in so much pain at one point that I prayed for God’s help. As I did so， I envisioned Jesus on the cross， and my pain subsided. I then thanked God and enjoyed the rest of my party. The next day I received medical attention， and my condition improved dramatically before I returned to Australia.
A few years later Han-Han invited me to return to Indonesia for another speaking tour. This time I provided my own caregiver and stuck to bottled water with no ice. A businessman in Indonesia， whom we knew as Pa Chokro， arranged for me to speak to nearly forty thousand people at stadium appearances in five cities. The events were also broadcast on television.
