BIG BIG DAY!!!!!!!!

It has been forever since my last blog entry. Oh my, where to start. We have been so busy with so many things. Trips to see family, Memorial Day, Our first adoption fundraiser, planning VBS, planning Mission trip to New York and the list goes on. I am so glad to be able to post something today. Since this is the first post in some time, it will be a long one lol.

I will start off telling all of you about the miracle that was our first adoption fund raiser. A few months ago we decided to have two yard sales to help raise money for our adoption. Each step of the adoption process takes a certain amount of money. We have been gathering enough money for one step at a time. Once that step is complete we begin gathering for the next step. We decided to have one yard sale in Paducah, Ky where my wife Lauren is from, and one here in Owensboro, Ky where I am from. Our friends and family began cleaning out their attics and donating those items for our yard sale. My fist thought was, will this really make us any money? You know me, always the realist. Well, by the time June 3rd got here my Father-in-law's garage was packed to the max. We had so much stuff I could not believe it. Then the overwhelming thought of, how in the world will we ever get rid of all this stuff really hit me. lol

Our family and friends worked extremely hard unpacking everything and getting it separated and tagging it all. After a very long hard day of unpacking, organizing, hauling, and pricing we were ready to drop. We went to bed excited about the next day. When we got up early the next day I really did not know what to expect. I got up at 6am and was out side by 6:30am. When I walked out we already had people out there looking to buy stuff. 10 hours later we had sold hundreds of items to hundreds of people and walked away with a grand total of $2,056!!!! Can you believe it? Our God is so great! 

This fundraiser made is possible to take our next step. This step for us is the most important step. Today, we are sending off our I600a form. This form will be sent to our governments and they will determine if we will be allowed to adopt internationally or not. This is huge for us!    

We are asking that all who read this blog please pray for this paper to fall into the hands of a Christian person. Pray that they will really read the letters of support and consider them seriously. This is so important to Lauren and I. We want our baby home with us ASAP. The more steps we knock down, the closer we are to holding baby Anderson in our arms. Thank you so much ahead of time for praying.
Our next big fundraiser will be here in Owensboro on July 28th. We have a garage packed to the door with hundreds maybe even thousands of items that we will be selling in our garage sale that day. I can't thank all our friends and family enough for all they have done. We look forward to what God is going to do.

Baby Anderson, Mommy and Daddy are working very hard so that we can see you soon. I have faith that this will happen and that we will hold you in our arms very soon. We love you!

We recognize that adoption may not be possible for everyone, so this might be one way to partner with us in fulfilling our dreams for ministry and family. If you would like to donate toward our adoption, you can make out a check to
             Zachary or Lauren Anderson
Mail to: 2825 West Wayside Dr.
            Owensboro, KY 42301
 PLEASE PUT ADOPTION IN THE MEMO.

Taking the BIG step!

Well, where do I even begin? I started blogging some time ago but after a while life seemed to get in the way, so I had almost forgotten about it. That is until now! I have more reason to blog now more than ever! My wife Lauren and I have decided to adopt! I am so excited that I can't hardly stand it. Let me start with giving you a little background first. That might help lol.

Almost 7 years ago God sent the most amazing woman into my life. Lauren was a Godsend and the woman that I knew I had been praying for. We have been married a little over 5 years now. During this time we have talked a lot about our future. Children were always a topic of conversation and a huge part of our plans. We both love children and want to be parents. In case you don't know us personally, I am a Youth Director for my home church and Lauren is our Children's Church Director. WE LOVE KIDS! Youth ministry is my passion and I can't see myself not working with young people. We finely decided about 2 years ago to begin trying to conceive children and start our family. My wife was diagnosed with PCOS about ten years ago and we knew that she could have trouble having a child. We knew it would take some time and patience. Well, it never happened. We just assumed that it was the PCOS and that we just needed to keep trying. After some time my wife suggested that I go visit a doctor and have a complete exam to make sure that everything was ok on my end. I went to the doctor and awaited the test results. I was devastated to learn that I was part of the problem. I had some major issues that would keep us from conceiving a child. The Doctor could not understand why this had happened. It is not common in men my age that are healthy. He said that it would take many more tests and many thousands of dollars to see what was going on and even then, we may not be able to fix it.

I was devastated, hurt and angry. God knows how much we want children! Why in the world is this happening to us? I just could not wrap my head around it. I knew in my heart that I would be a Dad. It's something that I really wanted bad. Lauren had mentioned adoption to me a few times in the past. She shared that when she was young that she had felt in her heart that she would adopt a child. I on the other hand had never even considered adoption. I knew that I would have a child of my own flesh and blood. Adoption is great and I support it 100% but it just was not what I had intended for me and my family. I could not have been more wrong.

As youth workers we take our kids to a lot of Christian events like concerts. A lot of these Christian artists support organizations like Holt International, Feed The Hungry, and World Vision. These ministries reach out to children all over the world and finds them sponsors that will give $30 a month to help provide a better life for them. My heart went out to them and Laurena and I decided to sponsor a child. It was a great feeling. Before you knew it we were sponsoring a child at every event we went to lol. Well, about three weeks ago we took our kids to Winter Jam in Indiana. Once again they had a presentation on Holt International. I find myself with another packet in my hand signing up to sponsor a little girl from Africa. I was so excited to have her in my hand and so was Lauren. Last week we received her packet in the mail a long with all of her information. When I opened that packet and begin to read about this young girl God spoke right to my heart. It was so clear and direct. He said, "Zack, don't you see? I have a plan for you and Lauren. You will have a child, but you have to trust me. There is a child I have in mind for you. It may not be what you had planned, but I know what is best for you. You will adopt". At that moment I was a peace. I had no fear. I did not fear the cost, the waiting, the finding, or the let down. All I knew at that moment was that God had been preparing us to adopt a child.

I sent my wife an e mail letting her know that I had come around. I was ready to adopt and start our family. She has happy to say the least. In fact, she had been praying hard for me and the whole adoption thing for a long time. It was an answered prayer for her. She knew God was in control. We are so excited to adopt. We have been talking with friends who have adopted children. We have been looking for agencies that will be a good fit for us. We have narrowed it down to three agencies. We have begun the application process with two of them. I knew it was going to be a long process and a lot of paperwork, but it's even more than I thought lol. We are well on our way.

We want to share this blessing with whoever wants to follow our journey. We will need our family, friends and church family now more than ever. I know we have that support and we are so grateful for it. We have not decided if we want to choose the sex or let the chips fall where they may. We have already started narrowing down names. That's a fun process lol. For now, we have decided to call him or her "Baby Anderson". I want to thank my wife for putting up with me. She is truly my soul mate. I love her with all my heart.

Baby Anderson,
I know that we have not met yet and you have no idea who I am, but I can't wait to meet you. God is preparing the day and time that we will meet. I can't wait to hold you in my arms and protect you with my life. I can't wait to sing to you and rock you to sleep. I am looking forward to teaching you about the Lord and His ways. You have a huge loving family who can't wait to meet you. I am praying for you every day. See you soon! Dad