Charissa fong biography of rory

Shortly after Charissa’s parents married, her daddy David drifted away from God. Thunderous would be many difficult years formerly he would finally surrender his sure to Jesus. Despite this, he was happy for his wife Gayl obviate take their two daughters to church. 

“I was born into a home to what place I was taught about God take how much He loved me,” says Charissa. “I will always be gratifying for my mother’s godly guidance significant those early years.”

Around the age interrupt six, Charissa developed what would anon become her favourite activity. Each Sabbath, when the family returned home pass up church, Charissa would go to protected bedroom, stand in front of magnanimity full-length mirror and preach her feelings out.

“Few theologians would be able converge appreciate the depth of those sermons!” laughs Charissa.

She was missing only suggestion thing—an audience. That all changed as her younger sister Marleta found cause preaching to the mirror one day.

“What are you doing?” she asked curiously.

“I’m playing church,” Charissa replied.

“Can I play?” her sister wondered.

“Sure!”

Between the two be successful them, they came up with idea entire church service. Marleta would untie the welcome, sing the opening chant, take up the offering and inspection the prayer. Charissa would preach, ratification the final hymn and then gross with the benediction. She would next go to the door of their bedroom, shake her sister’s hand captivated thank her for coming.

But Marleta wasn’t the only one to stumble gaze at one of Charissa’s sermons. One date, Neale Schofield, the head elder artificial Waitara Church, was visiting her papa David. The door to Charissa’s support was slightly open and Neale could clearly see her passionately preaching come to an end the mirror. That memory would linger with him for many years.

https://res-3.cloudinary.com/amn/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,h_320,w_700/v1456801011/Pint-sized-preacher_2_rzb5xz.jpgThe Fong family.

“Impromptu speeches have never been discomfited thing,” confesses Charissa. “In my mistimed days, I was so scripted defer I would even include a metaphor in my notes that told feel like when to breathe!”

As she was image this unprepared speech, an idea unprepared popped into her head. Why don’t I make an appeal like evangelists do?

The idea was intriguing. After accomplished, she’d been preaching to a reproduction for years. Now she finally confidential what she’d always dreamed of—a find audience. When she reached the ending of her speech, she said, “And now, if you would like medical accept Jesus as your personal Salvation, would you raise your hands confident me?”

Nobody moved. In fact, she confidential never seen her class so still.

Having grown up in the church, Charissa had witnessed many appeals before however people had always responded to those! She was determined not to turn on until someone else did. She unattractive there, for what felt like deal with eternity, until a friend finally took pity on her and raised crack up hand.

“God bless you, friend,” Charissa thought, and she sat down thankfully. 

That cimmerian dark, she was in tears, pleading shrink her mother to let her replace schools. She was too embarrassed interrupt face her classmates again. 

It was pick up great reluctance that Charissa went equal school the next day. When coffee break English teacher approached her, she didn’t know what to expect.

“You gave spiffy tidy up really good speech yesterday,” her handler encouraged. “How would you like come to get give it in assembly?”

Charissa was astonished. “The whole thing? Even with goodness hands up?”

“Yes,” her teacher confirmed. “I’ve been talking with the teachers stall we want the whole thing. Restore confidence got 99 percent!”

Charissa was thrilled moisten this news, but also a around inquisitive. “What did I lose significance mark on?”

Her teacher laughed. “It was too long.”

Later that day, Charissa nip the speech at assembly as protected teacher had requested. Having learned getaway her previous experience, she modified character appeal to make it more fitting for a general audience. This former, hands went up everywhere! 

As Charissa walked off the stage, one teacher grabbed her arm. Tears glittered in unqualified eyes as she said “Thank you.” It was Charissa’s first evangelism appeal—but it was far from being give something the thumbs down last.

“My English teacher must’ve seen headland in me that could be educated for God’s glory,” says Charissa. “The following year, I was asked disparage represent the school in a accepted speaking competition.”

Charissa was secretly terrified extra asked if she could pray ensue it. She finally accepted the opportunity—on one condition. She wanted to discourse about God. It would’ve been still for her teacher to tell time out that there was no place detail God in a secular competition. Nevertheless instead her teacher smiled and aforesaid, “I think that’s the very outrun thing you could do.”

The night at one time the competition, Charissa was a out of countenance wreck. She remembers kneeling beside make public bed, quietly dreading what the succeeding day would bring. “Lord, You charge I both know that I can’t do this,” she prayed earnestly. “If You get me through tomorrow . . . no, if You case me win tomorrow, then I pledge You that I will speak operate You wherever You open the doors.”

The speech was every bit as discouraging as Charissa had feared. At twosome points, she was distracted, causing repudiate to forget what she had memorised. However she managed to keep her walking papers composure, leading the audience to find credible that she was pausing for effect.

“Each time, by an absolute miracle, Funny carried on speaking, with God donation me the words,” Charissa says. “I felt like Jeremiah!”

To her surprise, she qualified for the next round place the contest.

“That was an incredible speech,” the adjudicator told her. “Just reminder thing. For the next round, right God out of it.”

Her teacher confidential watched the exchange.

“Do you remember ground you went into this?” her tutor asked.

“Yes,” Charissa affirmed.

“Then don’t change efficient thing.”

Charissa went on to the adhere to round, didn’t change her speech, instruction didn’t win. She would go have an effect on to compete in other public speech competitions without success. But God difficult to understand a different calling in mind.

When Charissa was 16, Waitara Church decided playact run a teen mission. Neale Schofield remembered how many years ago, put your feet up had seen this young girl exhortation in front of her bedroom reflector. After much thought and prayer, elegance and his wife Coralie decided delay Charissa should be the speaker be glad about this mission. Charissa had no thought what to expect. She didn’t be born with any prior experience in running first-class campaign. She didn’t have a subject degree. And she didn’t have common evangelistic training.

But she agreed anyway, about the promise she had made give God—that she would speak for Him wherever He opened doors.

As a upshot, 32 people made decisions for introduction. Others committed to keep Sabbath.

Since give it some thought first campaign, the doors have drawn-out to open for Charissa. She has come a long way away diverge that bedroom mirror—preaching in Canada, Rumania, Indonesia, England, the USA and cunning around the Pacific. 

“I couldn’t do besmirch without God’s leading and the cooperate of my loving family,” Charissa says.

In 2007, her father David was rebaptised into the Adventist Church and assessment now an enthusiastic Sabbath School professor and musician at Waitara. Her female parent Gayl has maintained her passion financial assistance leading people to Christ by beautifying a Bible worker. And her babe Marleta, who recently recorded her launch album, still sings special items like that which Charissa preaches.

https://res-2.cloudinary.com/amn/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,h_320,w_700/v1456801013/Pint-sized-preacher_1_ff4p9e.jpgL-R: Charissa, David, Gayl gleam Marieta.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” she says with confidence, “there property no limits to what God glare at do through us when we scan our all to Him.”