Chuck & Sally Wing
Royal Ambassador
Driving through a quaint subdivision of Murrieta, California, where breezy sunshine seems a permanent fixture in the lives of those fortunate enough to inhabit the space, we soon came upon the home of Chuck and Sally Wing, Royal Ambassadors with Vemma.
Upon entering their home with a gentle handshake and two wide-eyed welcoming smiles, we were ushered into the kitchen where we were offered a glass of sparkling water before beginning our conversation that would navigate us through the next two days. Looking around at the Wing’s interior décor, it seemed that two major themes dominated the space—the first being evidence of their faith, which would be a major topic of discussion on an almost hourly basis, and the other element being photographs of their family, which could be seen in just about every corner of the house. The backyard lawn framed a beautiful pool area, which would serve as a gathering place following one of their home events later that evening, but in the meantime, we were offered a comfortable place to sit as we learned more about this fascinating couple.
Without any prodding, Chuck begins to describe himself as essentially “The Preacher,” having received a license as a full-fledged Minister, in addition to a Masters degree in Education and a PhD in Organizational Leadership. But his wife, Sally, quickly adds to that comment (in a flash of humorous consternation all her own), “He may be a preacher, but I ain’t no preacher’s wife!” They both laugh at the joke as we join in, but the observation would soon take on a different shade as we listened to their story unfold.
Like many couples, their tale begins with a narrative that could be seen in many places across the world: boy meets girl, girl notices boy, they fall in love, and wedding bells ensue. But about fifteen years ago, this narrative took a sharp turn, which Chuck and Sally both attribute to the “hand of God.”
Before we continue though, there is one thing you must understand about Chuck and Sally. Within five minutes of our initial conversation, words like “God,” “Bible,” “ministry” and “witnessing” were thrown around as nonchalantly as a Chef Italiano tossing a pizza dough. It’s not that they are obstinate or adamant about “shepherding” you into their flock—it’s just a part of who they are, not unlike the uniqueness of a natural redhead, or your best friend who you never realized is actually left handed. Their faith, nearly embedded in their DNA (or emanating from their soul, if you prefer) seems to shape the very vernacular with which they color their sentences. “Miracle.” “Revelation.” “Vision.”
Speaking of the latter, Chuck related to us in a moment of reserved solemnity how he had gone to bed one evening, and his mind was opened to a vision. In saying the word vision, he looked up and sensitively apologized for using the ominous term (interestingly, the first and only time he did so), but it seemed as if he didn’t know any other way of communicating this metaphysical occurrence in his life. As an administrator in Christian schools for the bulk of his early professional pastoral career, the concept of religious education was constantly on Chuck’s mind. However, this evening wherein Chuck received his vision, he suddenly had a blast of visual inspiration that seemed to show him one thing—a new type of school where the worlds of academia and faith intertwined, but that could be accessed by anyone in the world. Mind you, this is at least a decade before words like “broadband,” “Skype,” or “virtual classrooms” were even heard of in normal conversations. It seemed almost as if Noah had been shown the blueprints to his boat, but the flood of necessary technology would still need time to appear.
Sally described the situation in her own words. “It’s easier to have faith if you’re the one receiving the vision, but what happens if you’re just the one married to the person who saw it? Where does that leave you? It really was a trial of faith.” Keep in mind though, if there were ever a “woman of faith,” Sally is a veritable poster child of the concept. Over the next ten years, she followed her husband as they sold nearly everything they owned, moved from their comfortable home in Portland, Oregon, to the valley they lovingly called “Babylon” (i.e. the city of Los Angeles, for those less versed in apocryphal pseudonyms). Chuck had been “called,” so to speak, to build schools of faith, and Sally—well, she was somewhat along for the ride.
Now, before this begins to seem a bit too patriarchal, with Chuck atop his majestic arc and Sally shoveling animal dung below deck (an actual metaphor Sally used to describe their situation—no joke!), the story does swing in her favor later. But for now, imagine Chuck moving from one spiritual experience to another, some good, some not so good; but the predominant flow moving in the direction of his vision slowly being fulfilled. Schools were built, curriculums prepared, and the students began to materialize (yes, if you’re having scenes from Field of Dreams come to mind, you’re probably not too far from the truth—“if you build it, they will come!”). However, in all of the wondrous events taking place, there were two major issues that Chuck had yet to address: the first being Sally’s struggle of what amounted to a decade of sacrifice steeped in subtle depression, made more acute by a serious case of rheumatoid arthritis—and the second issue being the fact that in education, specifically Christian education, Chuck was making next to nothing, subsidizing their living costs with their retirement fund. After the decade had passed, Chuck felt he had come to the end of his “mission,” partly because the work he had accomplished no longer required his assistance, but also because his wife, and his bank account, had both been spent.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Chuck said, somewhat despondently as he remembered the moment of desperation he had with that realization. “Here I was, in my early fifties, without a job, largely overqualified for anything out there, and without any retirement left to help. I had served God as best I could, but I was literally reduced to scouring the newspapers for odd jobs to help support my family. I got so desperate, I even contemplated taking up a paper route to help pay the bills. I just couldn’t see any other way around it.”
However, at this time of crisis, Sally had been on a “mission” of her own, trying to find a way to reduce her $600 monthly medication bill for her arthritis. She was soon introduced to the Vemma formula, a nutritional supplement that not only eliminated the need for the majority of her medications, but also opened up the opportunity for her to build her own business. But when she came to her husband with the idea of making Vemma a career, she was met with, “I just don’t think that’s something we should get into, Sally.”
Looking back, however, Chuck shyly explains how he had a change of heart: “You know, I once heard a story of a man stranded on a rooftop in the middle of a storm who needed help to escape a rising flood. He gets on his knees and asks God for help, and a helicopter comes by with a ladder. The man looks up, and tells the helicopter to go away because—as he put it—he was waiting for an act of God to save him. A few minutes later, still kneeling in prayer, the man sees a boat float by and is thrown a life preserver with a rope attached. Again the man tells the rescue team to go away just before resuming his penitent prayer. But, as you might guess, the man eventually drowns in the flood, and when he meets God at the pearly gates, he asks why He didn’t save him from such an untimely death.” Chuck smiles. “Yes, that’s exactly the lesson I learned when it came to my wife. God was already showing me a way our family could be delivered from our financial storm, but I was unwilling to see the miracle He had prepared. He had shown me a vision earlier in my life, and now he had given my wife the same kind of inspiration that literally saved our family.”
As you could imagine, following this realization, Chuck began to listen intently to what his wife had to say in regards to her health and the financial opportunities she foresaw. And as for Sally—well, she led The Preacher as they moved on to the next foray of their faith-driven life toward the path that ultimately restored her health and made them millionaires.
However, lest you think they’ve forgotten their mission of offering the youth of today a “good Christian education,” Chuck articulates the best part of becoming Royal Ambassadors in Vemma. “I spent my whole career asking people for checks to make these schools a reality, but now Sally and I have the ability to write the checks ourselves. It’s a miracle. I don’t know how else to say it. It’s a miracle.”
*Results not typical, your results may vary. The success or failure of each individual is dependent on their own efforts. The Company has generally expected results which can be obtained by visiting www.vemma.com.
