Limbless preacher tests Vietnam's religious freedoms
Nick Vujicic, born without limbs, addresses thousands in televised appearance billed as 'motivational' event to avoid official obstruction
The 25,000 people at the soccer stadium and the millions more watching at home waited 90 minutes before the Australian evangelical preacher got to the message he had come to Communist-ruled Vietnam to deliver.
"Do you know why I love God," Nick Vujicic asked a young girl on stage who, like him, was born without arms and legs. "Because heaven is real. And one day when we get to heaven, we are going to have arms and legs. And we are going to run, and we are going to play, and we are going to race."
The remark was Vujicic's only direct reference to his faith in a night that was otherwise motivational. Most people in the audience were not Christians, but were attracted to Vujicic as a living example of overcoming adversity.
Yet Vujicic's appearance is a sign of how a government that once severely restricted religion as a challenge to its authoritarian one-party rule is now taking a slightly more relaxed attitude. Those associated with Vujicic's Vietnam tour said it was the first by a foreign Christian - and the largest gathering to be addressed by a foreigner in the country's recent history.
For Vujicic and the 12 members of "Team Nick", the mostly Californian crew organising his Asian tour, it was another country to add to the long list in which he has spread the Gospel. His charity had revenues of more than US$1.6 million last year, his YouTube videos have been watched millions of times and he has authored three bestselling books.
"We are a unique ministry. We can go on national TV where other Christians cannot," Vujicic said backstage on Thursday. "Of course, in Vietnam there are limitations in how you can and can't talk about your faith, but with wisdom we come in. Some places we go we have to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves."