Chapter Fifteen: Revealing Direction
Ryan could feel a bubbling in his stomach and it wasn’t his food digesting. Something big was about to be revealed.
“I run a small packaging company out of here,” Mr. Waltz explained. “I have worked out of my garage for years. I’ve never had any problems getting orders out until this summer. I bought this here machine in March, about the same time Amy wanted to go to Maldives. That’s why she had to make a choice to go out of state to college or go on the mission trip. This machine cost a bundle.”
He walked Ryan over to a large machine sitting in the middle of his garage. In bold print the word EMBEA was stamped on its side. Mr. Waltz explained the whole process of the “big boss” as he called it. “This machine can be programmed to slot, slit, and crease a box any way you please. I can box up and send a coffee mug or a refrigerator clear across the states,” he said proudly with a big smile on his face. “It will even glue the folds,” he exclaimed.
The problem is I have so much inventory now that I have outgrown the place. Mrs. Waltz refuses to let me add another inch to the garage. She says if it were up to me the whole yard would be a factory.” Mr. Waltz was making jokes, but Ryan was as serious as a heart attack.
“Do you think you could ever export anything with this machine?” Ryan’s question wasn’t an ‘in theory’ question. The wheels in his head were turning and his blood was pumping strong. With a five minute conversation in the garage, Ryan had a vision on how to get the Bibles to Maldives.
“All it takes is a product and a contract!” Mr. Waltz was so confident in his EMBEA. Little did he know that all his confidence was soon to be put to the test. “Sounds like you have something in mind, Ryan.”
“I do Sir, Bibles and to be more specific, Bibles to Maldives.” Ryan didn’t crack a smile when he spoke. Now Mr. Waltz knew he was being challenged.
“You have no idea what you are asking. There has to be merchandise going that direction first. We have to bid on contracts, win the bid, sign legal papers with both our government and the country to which the product is going.” He went on and on with details before asking, “Are you overwhelmed by this information yet?” Mr. Waltz had only just met Ryan. He had no idea of Ryan’s determination.
“No, not even close, Sir,” now Ryan smiled.
“Look around you. I don’t have room for anything else in this garage. I am working day and night to stay true to the people I package for already. I went out last week and looked at warehouses around the city. The prices for rent are more than I make in a month. I can tell that you and Amy were strongly impacted by your trip, but there are desires and then there is reality. I am a man of great faith in God. I have seen Him work more miracles in my lifetime than ten men put together. I am sorry, Ryan. Don’t make plans for this to happen.” A knock at the door was all Mr. Waltz needed to escape from Ryan’s big dream.
“Hi Daddy, Ryan, What are you two doing out here?” Amy could feel tenseness in the atmosphere.
“Ryan is going to be staying up in the garage apartment until he can make it back home.” Mr. Waltz excused himself and left Amy and Ryan standing in the garage.
Ryan explained why Amy felt the way she did. She was sensitive to situations and picked up emotions easily. Amy finished walking Ryan around the garage and shared everything she knew about her father’s work, albeit not much. She walked him up the stairs and opened the door. She turned on the lights and showed him around, which took about thirty seconds. The kitchen area was the first room inside the door. There wasn’t enough room for a table, so a snack bar was built out from the wall as part of the cabinet. There were two bar stools pushed under the cabinet. Ryan pulled them both out and asked Amy to sit with him.
“Amy, can you see this packaging company being a key to smuggling Bibles? Can you see how this can become a reality?” Ryan wanted her to say “yes” badly. He wanted to share this and so much more with her.
“Yes, I do. However, it isn’t me that you have to convince, it’s my father.” Amy weighed and measured her words carefully. She had the same passion for Maldives that Ryan did. She did not want to sound like she was defending her dad. Finally, she spoke with a clear understanding of both sides of the situation. “My dad is a good man. He works hard and gives easily. He is very proud of that new machine downstairs. He never intended for anyone to know this, but he borrowed against the house to buy that big beast. Mom told me because she thought I would be disappointed in not being able to go to Maldives and go to college out of state.” Amy twisted on the bar stool to reposition herself and think.
Ryan waited on Amy to finish. He wanted to hear everything so he would know how to pray. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Ryan. I am going to ask you to think about what you said to my dad and then add the information I just gave you. In the past four weeks, we have had our eyes opened to a great need. We are anxious to help those beautiful people. However, in order to do so, we need the help of my dad who has put his home up for collateral in order for his business to grow. It is a big risk for him to take.”
Ryan was quiet. He began to realize that he had pushed his vision on Mr. Waltz unfairly. “I’m sorry, Amy. I didn’t know all the circumstances. Will you please pray with me?”
Amy didn’t hesitate. They prayed, then and there, God’s will be done.
“I need to speak with your father, Amy. I have to talk to him. It’s important.” Ryan sounded as if he were begging. Maybe he was in a way.
“You have given Dad a lot to think about. Let him sleep on it tonight. He will be up making plenty of noise in here very early. You better get sleep while you can.” Amy got up from the stool and started to walk away. As she turned, Ryan reached once again for her hand.
“May I hug you Amy?” It was sweet, it was innocent, and it was a proclamation by Ryan.
Amy didn’t answer. She positioned herself in front of him. He took a small step forward and put his arms gently around her. He hugged her briefly and raised his hands up to her face. He looked at her. For the first time he saw how beautiful she was physically. For four weeks he had repeatedly seen the beauty of her heart. Yes, he had noticed her looks before, but not like this.
Amy’s breathing was shallow. She wanted him to kiss her. It would be a first kiss for them both, but tonight wasn’t perfect enough for Ryan.
“Goodnight, Amy. I will see you tomorrow.” He released her face and stepped back.
Amy floated down the stairs and into the house. She was feeling very blessed.
At 6:30 in the morning, Ryan was awakened by a deep humming sound coming from the garage below. He felt like he hadn’t slept at all. He stumbled to the small restroom to wash the sleep out of his eyes. The restroom was so small that he was practically standing in the shower as he washed his face. He decided that a shower would help him more. After he was showered and shaved, he dressed for the day. He felt great now. It may be a small restroom, but it had great water pressure.
As Ryan came down the stairs, he could see Mr. Waltz at the EMBEA hard at work. “Morning, Ryan,” he called out to Ryan when he spotted him across the room.
“Morning, sir,” Ryan had a desire to learn everything about this process. He had a plan and a prayer. “Can I help you this morning?”
“Sure, see those flat sheets of cardboard over there? Go pick up ten sheets. There is a conveyer belt to Big Boss down on that far side. I’m finishing up these calibrations here and then we will make some boxes.” Mr. Waltz added more to the final touches and measurements. “You have them loaded?”
“Yes, Sir,” Ryan answered.
“Keep your hands back,” he warned. “This machine will either tear your arm off or flatten you like a pancake. You have to respect Big Boss.” Mr. Waltz’s name for the EMBEA machine reminded him of Ed and how he named his cars. “Here we go.”
The ten flat boxes were pulled into the ma
chine all at once. Ryan walked over to Mr. Waltz as he explained what was going on inside the machine. “It’s corrugating now. The next step will put it through a rotary die cutter. Those blades are so sharp that they can go through the whole stack of cardboard at once. Look, look there. You see that part of the machine?” He was pointing proudly at something. Ryan couldn’t tell what it was that was pointing to. To Ryan, the whole thing was awesome.
“That is the printer/slotter. It takes the boxes already cut to size and cuts the slots out for the ends so they can be folded and glued. The last step is that part right there.” There he went pointing again. Ryan was clueless, but nodded yes anyway.
“That is the last thing this machine does. It will print logos on the boxes. Pretty impressive isn’t it?” Mr. Waltz loved his new toy.
“Very, very impressive,” Ryan replied. Ryan helped him load cardboard, package inventory and stack the finished products.
“Daddy,” Amy called. You have a phone call.” Mr. Waltz looked at his watch. It was 10:30 already. Ryan had been such a big help that the morning flew by.
“Coming, Honey,” he yelled back to Amy. “Have you eaten anything?” Ryan shook his head no.
“I am a hard worker, but not a slave driver. Have Amy get you something to eat while I get the phone.”
Amy fixed Ryan some eggs and toast. They stayed in the kitchen for a half an hour talking about everything except the last five minutes of last evening. Ryan stood beside Amy drying the dishes as she washed them. Mr. Waltz finished his phone call and asked Ryan if he was ready to get back to work.
They went back to the garage and started working even harder than before. Mr. Waltz’s disposition had changed. Something happened during the phone call, but Ryan never questioned him. Four hours later, Amy came to tell her dad that he had yet another phone call. It was 3:00 in the afternoon and the ladies of the family already had the house smelling like a restaurant. Ryan’s brunch had worn off three hours ago and the aroma of the house started his stomach complaining. Amy laughed when she heard his stomach roar in protest.
“Are you going to live until dinner?” Amy teased.
“Depends on how long I have to wait,” Ryan said grabbing his mid-section in dramatic fashion. “I may vanish away.”
Amy laughed at him and offered him some cookies and milk to tie him over. “Oh yes, COOKIES! That is a way to my heart for sure.” Ryan had just embarrassed himself. He couldn’t believe those words came from his mouth.
“Well then, I better see what we have,” Amy bantered back. She pulled down two cups and found half dozen cookies which was a miracle in itself, considering how many kids there were running around the house. They were comfortable with each other. They felt a mutual acceptance and pleasure in each other’s company.
Mr. Waltz came into the kitchen with the same look on his face that he had from his last phone call. This couldn’t be good. “Amy, tell your mom we are ready for dinner as soon as it’s ready. Ryan, I need to see you out in the garage.” With those words spoken, he turned and walked away expecting Ryan to be right behind him. He was.
“Are you okay, Mr. Waltz?” Ryan was concerned.
“You better explain to me exactly how you are praying.” Mr. Waltz wiped his face with his handkerchief. Those two phone calls were unexplainable and unexpected. I didn’t sleep hardly at all last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my daughter beaming as she talked about the children of Maldives she fell in love with. Then at some point you would appear in my dream with your idea to use my business to smuggle Bibles.”
Mr. Waltz leaned against Big Boss and wiped his face once again. He was sweating and it wasn’t hot in the garage. “You aren’t going to believe this. This morning, the first phone call was from the owner of an empty manufactory building. I toured that building last week and felt so strong to put in a bid to buy the property and the building. The number in my head was $100,000.00 less than the asking price. The realtor was hateful with me. She thought I was wasting everyone’s time and wasn’t shy to let me know it, too. There was a twenty-four-hour reply to my offer in the contract and I never heard back from the realtor, until this morning. The owner wants to get rid of the property. He said he would give it to me at my price as long as I agree to clean it out.”
Ryan’s concern turned straight to delight. The look on Ryan’s face said, yes, I can believe it. We are talking about God’s miracles!
“And then…,” Mr. Waltz continued. “I just hung up from a guy in Kentucky who wants to ship his product to Canada. This is a huge contract and what makes it better is that it is an ongoing need, not a one-time thing. The money from that contract alone will pay for the factory. This is bigger than me at this point.”
“Not bigger than God.” Ryan was trying not to be smug about Mr. Waltz’s new revelation because it was his vision first. He didn’t know exactly how God was going to get His plan in action, but Ryan knew He would complete the task.
“Ryan is there anything else I need to know now. I am totally in awe of God’s work at this point. Are there going to be other surprises ahead that I should prepare myself for? You seem to have an insight to all this so I thought I should ask.” Mr. Waltz was very serious and so was Ryan.
“Yes Sir, there is one more thing.” Ryan straightened his posture and looked him in the eyes. “I love your daughter and I want to marry her…”
*****
About Tina Hawkey Baker
Tina was born and raised in Southwest Ohio. She has four main passions in her life; her faith, family, writing and Cincinnati Reds Baseball. With a blended family of six children and four grandchildren, Tina lives and writes with a passion to see young adults overcoming obstacles, coming into their own, and finding God's will for their lives.
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