Zach
Zach’s birth in 1993 was rather dramatic because his cord got trapped under his head. We ended up having him at the local hospital instead of having the home-birth we’d planned. In answer to the prayers of our whole church, God moved that cord out of the way before we arrived at the hospital and we had a safe, fast delivery. I believe God saved Zach’s life for a purpose.
The best word I can think of to describe Zach’s personality is eager. He has always tickled and inspired me! He could also be described as a rudder. This rudder, however, needed some serious forming to learn to steer in a good direction. I probably spent more time in prayer for Zach than any of my other children. It is paying off!
An example of his rudder capabilities was when we were making applesauce one day. We had our
As a preteen, he began a business selling no-bake cookies at the local farmer’s market. His approach was dynamic and his sales were high. He wasn’t afraid to hang a large sign from his neck and shout out to passing customers “Try one, buy one!” Customers would try a piece from a plate of small samples and end up becoming regular customers.
Later, in his teen years, he bought used computers, refurbished them and sold them online. He used cash from a food service job he’d worked to get started. This pattern continued and before long he was able to buy a nice used car with cash.
The week he graduated from high school, he signed a lease on a storefront and began his tech business. After saving up his next big chunk of money, he bought a fixer-upper house with cash. By this time, I’m thinking he should write a book someday called The American Dream Lives on in the 21st Century.
Zach had entered business with dollar signs dancing around in his head, but before long a ministry to people grew out of it. People began bringing all sorts of computer problems to his shop to get fixed. His focus changed from sales to repairs.
One of the issues people brought was computers locked up with family pictures inaccessible. Other companies were charging extremely high prices to retrieve data, but he charged a reasonable price. Some cases were unsolvable, but most could be retrieved. It’s not too many businesses that bring tears of joy to their customer’s eyes.
Now, Zach is living in a third house that he fixed up with his wife Nikita. She’d also worked with him on the first house before they got married. They decided to move because a farmer planted a commercial size hog barn right behind their house. Fortunately, they were able to sell it and get out of there.
Zach and Nikita have two very active boys. Nikita works her part-time dream job and enjoys hosting family get-togethers occasionally. I enjoy the solid Christian stand this couple takes.