I prayed about the proposed trip for three weeks. After that， I really felt that I had a calling to go. I wanted to offer inspiration without limits， and this seemed like a good first step toward a worldwide ministry. I knew very little about South Africa， and I had never traveled that far without my parents. My dad did have friends who lived there， and after he spoke with them， he wasn’t reassured. They reported that violent crime was a serious problem and that travelers were often attacked， robbed， and even killed.
“It‘s not a safe place to go， Nick，” my father said. “You don’t even know this John Pingo. Why would you trust him to take you all over that country？”
My mum and dad have very few gray hairs， which is surprising given some of my adventures as a strong-willed young man. But like all parents， they are very protective of me. Given my disabilities， they felt they had all the more reason to be concerned about my safety. But I yearned to make my way， to follow my calling and get on with my career as an evangelist and inspirational speaker.
When I raised the prospect of the South Africa trip， their initial concern was for my welfare and financial stability. I‘d just bought my first house with my earnings， and they felt I should be paying off my debts instead of gallivanting around the globe.
Their concerns increased dramatically when I also revealed to them that （1） while I was in South Africa， I intended to give away more than $20，000 of my life savings to orphanages， and （2） I wanted to take my little brother with me.
Looking back from my parents’ perspective today， I can better appreciate how worrying it must have been for them. But I was determined. The Bible says， “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him， how can the love of God be in him？” I wanted to act on my faith by serving others. Though I am disabled， I felt enabled by my faith， and I felt that it was time to serve my purpose.
I still had to convince my parents that I would be safe. Even my brother was not all that enthused about going with me at first. In fact， when I asked him， initially he refused because of the reports of violence and “I don‘t want to be eaten by a lion.” I kept pushing and prodding him， tried to explain the situation about lions. I’d recruited two cousins to go； one had to drop out. Aaron then felt it was his duty to go and help me make the trip. My parents and I prayed about this journey， and eventually they gave their blessing to go forward with it. They were still concerned， but they trusted God would look after us.
SERVING THE WORLD
When we arrived in South Africa after a long flight， our host was waiting for us at the airport as promised， but for some reason I‘d pictured John Pingo to be an older man， maybe not as old as my parents but at least in his thirties.
He was nineteen years old！ That was a year younger than I was at the time.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea， I thought when we met at the airport. Fortunately， John proved to be a very mature and capable bloke， who opened my eyes to more poverty and need than I‘d ever witnessed. He told me how he had been inspired by my life story when he saw my video， but I came to realize that his story was every bit as compelling， and his dedication to his faith humbled me.
He grew up on a livestock farm in the Republic of the Orange Free State in southern South Africa. He’d run with a bad crowd earlier in life， but he‘d become an avid Christian and was now the owner of a small trucking company. He was grateful to God for helping him change his life and for blessing him.
John was so determined to have me speak words of faith and inspiration around his country that he’d sold his own car to raise enough money for our tour of churches， schools， orphanages， and prisons. Then he‘d borrowed his aunt’s blue van to haul me to speaking engagements in Cape Town， Pretoria， Johannesburg， and all points in between.
It was a crazy schedule， and we often went with just four or five hours of sleep each day. But this trip introduced me to people， places， and things that changed my life forever. It helped me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of my life： to share my message of encouragement and faith around the globe.
Aaron and I thought we‘d seen a bit growing up in Australia and living for a short time in California. But on this trip we realized we were babes in these woods. That realization really sank in when we left the airport and were driving through Johannesburg. Aaron looked out his window at an intersection and saw a sign that terrified him： “Smash and Grab Area.”
Aaron looked at our driver. “John， what does that sign mean？”
“Oh， that means this is an area where they will smash your car windows， grab your things out of the car， and run off，” said John.
We locked the doors and began scanning all around us. We noted that many people lived in homes surrounded by high concrete walls with barbed-wire fencing at the top. Several people we met in the first couple days told of being mugged or robbed， but eventually we found that South Africa was no more dangerous than many other regions where poverty and crime are concerns.
In fact， Aaron and I both fell in love with South Africa and its people. Despite all this nation’s problems， we found South Africans to be wonderful， filled with hope and joy despite their circum-stances. We‘d never seen such depths of poverty and despair， nor such inexplicable joy and unyielding faith， as we found there.
The orphanages were both heart-wrenching and inspiring. We visited one orphanage dedicated to rescuing abandoned children who had been left in trash cans and on park benches. Most of them were sick and suffering from malnutrition. They affected us so much that we returned the next day with pizza， soft drinks， toys， soccer balls， and other simple gifts. The children were ecstatic about them.