Fundraiser #1

I am writing to announce a big fundraiser that is in the works right now. The weekend of the huge Hwy 68 yard sale (June 1-3 in Paducah) Lauren will be having a yard sale at her parent’s home. I know everyone has a box of stuff sitting in their house somewhere labeled “yard sale” but you either don’t want to mess with it or don’t think you have enough stuff to warrant a yard sale (that's always us). Here is your chance to get rid of that box of said stuff! We will be accepting donations of items for the yard sale to help bring home Baby Anderson from Ethiopia!


Also, for those in the Owensboro area, we will be having a yard sale too, the details haven't been worked out yet but if you have a GREAT location for a yard sale in an area that has a huge yard sale weekend and would be willing to let us set up then please contact me!

You can email Lauren if you have any questions, rosebud76(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you so much for your time to read this and your prayers.



Lauren and Zack



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Location:Wayside Dr W,Owensboro,United States

WE HAVE DECIDED!!!!!!

Great news today. Well, first let me say that I am sorry for not updating as promised last night. We got home very late and had to get packing for our trip to Atlanta this morning.

As all of you know, we had our meeting with Meredith from Adoption Assistance, Inc. last night in E-Town. I have to say that God is in this process big time! He is showing Himself clearly in this whole thing. Meredith is a God send. I know for sure that He connected us for a reason. She is amazing for sure. Lauren absolutely related to her right off the bat, and she was so down to earth and real. She pulls no wool over the eyes. She told us all that we needed to know and then some. She took her time with us and answered all of our questions. Many of our worries and concerns were laid to rest.

We spent a great deal of time talking about the pros and cons of both domestic and international adoption. We talked about all the countries available to us and the pros and cons of those countries. We talked about cost, fundraising, grants, loans and everything under the sun lol. We left our meeting with 100% of the information that we came there seeking. I felt that God was right there in the room as we were talking. I was moved by Meredith's own adoption story as she opened up and took the time to share it with us. I was anxious to leave toward the end of our meeting because God had already confirmed to me what He wanted us to do and I could not wait to pick Lauren's brain to see if she had the same feeling.

As many of you know, I have a love and passion for the people of Africa. I had the unique opportunity to visit there in 2008 with The Hanna Project on a mission trip. I came back changed forever by what I saw and experienced there. I fell in love with the people and children of Africa. My heart longs to go back there and be with the people. I have wanted to go again with the Hanna Project but have not had the opportunity. Well, about 3 months ago the fire and passion I have for Africa was rekindled. I felt that God was calling me back to Africa. I contacted the Hanna Project and found that they were taking applications for another trip to Africa in September 2012. This was a perfect time because it's after our busy summer months with our church youth group. I knew that this was the perfect time to take the step, so I did. I now have my application in and am awaiting to know if I made the team or not. I have been drawn to the children of Africa since 2008. In fact, every child that we have supported through world vision, Holt and Feed the Hungry have been from Africa. Africa holds my heart.

While talking with Meredith my heart begin to swell as she talked about the children of Ethiopia. I listened to her stories about the orphanage and the children there. About how the children get there. About how they live in extreme poverty and sometimes the Mother dies in child birth and the Father can not afford to feed the child. My heart broke but at the same time filled with excitement as God confirmed in me that we needed to adopt from Ethiopia. I just knew it without a doubt. When we left the meeting I asked Lauren what she thought and she agreed 100%. Ethiopia it is!! She has the same feeling as I do. She knew before we talked after we left, that our child would be from Ethiopia. I can not tell you how excited we are.


Now the process begins! We have all our paperwork in and are now ready to begin our home study. We set the date with Meredith for March 19th. Meredith will come to our home and meet with us and take a tour of our home. It brings us one step closer to Baby Anderson. This process will not be easy. There will be rough days and trials that come. There will also be good days and exciting days that will come. In the end, we will have the child that God has handpicked for us before we even knew it. It will all be worth it.

I am now going to ask for your help. We desperately need your prayers. The most important thing through this whole journey will be the prayers and support of our friends, family and church family. I know that God would not open this door just to shut it before we finish. Thats not how He works. I believe that it is natural to be worried about the finical aspect of this whole process. It is not cheap. We are looking at around $26,000 altogether. This includes two trips to Ethiopia. Right now it looks like a mountain, but I know that mountains can be conquered and even moved with prayer. For now, it is a mountain. So far we have $500.00 of our $26,000 mountain. We are going to take this mountain one step at a time. The first step being the home study. The home study will cost $1,500. Then we will focus on the next step. God will provide.

We plan on sharing every part of this with the world. We want to give God all the glory for the work He is doing and will do. (Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure).

Baby Anderson, I feel as if i already know you. The time is nearing when we will meet and I will hold you in my arms. Your Mom can't wait to meet you. She is an amazing woman and will love you with a love that is unexplainable. I will love you that way to. It won't be long and you will be safe at home for good. I love you!




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Location:Wayside Dr W,Owensboro,United States

Exciting day!

Well today is the day!! I am so excited and a little nervous. Today we meet with our adoption agency social worker. We will be driving to Elizabethtown this afternoon to have our first meeting. We will be talking about all kinds of stuff. We will be getting info on international adoption as well as domestic adoption, financial information, and Q & A time. We have many questions to ask and are praying that we don't forget any. Please pray for us as we make our trip today. We want to be sure and not miss anything. Pray that we will get the info that we need and this will be the agency for us. We do have a few back up agencies in case this does not work out. I will be posting a follow up blog later tonight to keep everyone posted and may even have a video. Thank you for all the prayer and support.

Baby Anderson, we are moving one step closer to finding you. I love you and can't wait to meet you.

A sincere thank you!

I am so thankful and humbled by the overwhelming response we have received from so many people in support of our decision to adopt. I am just blown away at the number of people who are reading mine and my wife's blogs. I just wanted to express my thanks. God bless, and please continue to read. Please watch video below!!

VIDEO TO YOU
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Location:Wayside Dr W,Owensboro,United States

Anticipation is killing me lol

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. (Psalm 130:5 KJV)
Hello everyone, it has been a few days sense my last blog. We have accomplished a lot over the last few days. I am so excited I can't seem to focus on much else. I have to remember that I still have a life and responsibilities lol. It's just that i have been wanting to be a Daddy for so very long! I have to keep relying on Psalm 130:5. Wait on God's timing for it is perfect! I know that God has this in His right hand.
When I have read this verse in the past, the waiting part makes sense, but I guess I never payed much attention to the soul part. When I read the verse this time it made perfect sense to me, especially the soul part. Waiting with the body is one thing, but when your soul is waiting it's something all-together different. This kind of waiting is an urgent, exciting, hand wringing waiting. A burning deep down in my heat type of waiting.
This kind of waiting has been even more evident this weekend as we are in Paducah celebrating Lauren and Huston's (My Nephew) Birthday. Seeing the excitement in the eyes of my little Nephew as he gets ready for everyone to come in the kitchen and start the singing is priceless. He runs in here and tells everyone "Party Time"! lol It's awesome to watch Huston and my Niece Lilly do what they do. They are both so different in so may ways. It's funny to watch. I also watch my Brother and Sister in law as they parent. They are great parents and I see that unconditional love in them as they love their children. I look at all they have learned and how different they are now than they were when Huston was first born. I can't wait to experience all of that. The ups and downs of Parenting as well as the learning process that comes with it all.

I can't help but think that this time next year we will have a little human being to parent. WOW! What a responsibility! Bing responsible for another life has to be a huge weight. Even though it is a huge responsibility I am more than ready for it. I keep thinking about what the Bible says about raising children.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 KJV) I believe that with all of my heart. My life and Lauren's are a testimony to this. Many of our friends lives as well. Our parents raised us up in the admonition of the Lord and we love Him today. Did we make our mistakes? YES, but we knew where to turn for help and restoration. Our Lord Jesus Christ and His church.
Even thought we know that this is going to be a long process, we are ready for it. In fact I welcome it. This process means that we are getting closer to meeting baby Anderson. I can't wait for that day!
Baby Anderson,
Mommy and Daddy are one step closer to meeting you. I can't wait to look into your eyes and tell you that I love you and that you are home safe and sound. What a day that will be. I may not put you down for a week....or two. lol Love Daddy!
You can follow my wife's blog about our adoption HERE
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Location:Redbud Dr,Paducah,United States

Amazing blessing & Getting out of God's way

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. (Proverbs 3:5-10 KJV) 

These verses seem so clear and easy to follow. I have preached on these verses and counciled people to follow this advice. Trust the Lord because He holds all things in His hands. He owns all that we see. He knows us like the back of His hand and knows what plans that He has for us. Still we find ourselves struggling to follow the advice of Proverbs chapter 3. Why is that I wonder? I believe it has something to do with what my good friend Daniel Reeves said. He said, "We don't follow God's Word because we don't really believe". Think about it, when push comes to shove we tend not to trust God's Word. We are not sure if what God has promised is true when faced with real life trials and circumstances that require supernatural help. 

 Having said all of this I must admit that I have fallen into this category already this week. I knew that God had spoken straight to my heart about Lauren and I adopting a child and starting our family. I had no doubt in my mind about it. Here is the thing. I immediately began to worry about finances. It's amazing how quick I forgot what God promised me. He said that He has a plan and will provide a way. I guess to be honest I just did not believe that. I mean what else can I say? If I am racking my brain and worried about how in the world we even start this process with no extra money, then I am not trusting God? I know we live on a tight budget and I know exactly what is in our bank account. The problem is that I was putting limitations on the God of the universe. I was showing Him that I was going to try and figure this out on my own after just asking Him to help us. Lol How crazy is that? That's just what we do. We live in a world and a socioty that no longer believes in the supernatural power of God. We like to talk about it and even teach it, but when it comes to putting it to practice we quickly lean on our own understanding. 

 I am so thankful that God does not give up on His children, but gives them miracles instead to prove His Words. I have been stressing over finances all day. We are filling out a long list of papers so that we can begin our home study. Well, the study alone is $1,500. Not to mention the background checks at $40 just to get started. I already told Lauren that we would have to wait until we get paid again before we can send in those background check because we just simply do not have the extra money. My wife bing the better half of me said that we should step out and go ahead and send it in. I was against that decision because I was leaning on my own understanding. Here is the miracle. I get home and see a box on the front porch. It is the VBS material I have been waiting on. I then check the mailbox and there are three pieces of mail. A card and two pieces of junk mail as always lol. The card caught my attention because it had no stamp or return address on it. It just had Zack & Lauren on it. I open it up and it is a beautiful card that says BABY on it. I open it up to read it and out falls some money. $500.00! I was floored! I read the card in tears and it was from Jesus. 

Here is what it said, "Let me start by saying how proud I am of both of you. I have heard your prayers and felt your sorrow as we battled infertility together. I know your heart and rejoyce at your desire to become parents. It does my heart well to see my children imitate their Father. After all, I have adopted you, and I love you with all my heart. Becoming a Mommy and Daddy won't be easy, but remember I am with you always. I am excited to begin this exciting new chapter of your lives with you. Cherish, nurture, love and care for this precious gift as I have cared for you. I love you with a never-stopping, never giving up, always and forever kind of love! Jesus"

 I can not even begin to tell you how I felt. Rivers of joy, love, humility, and excitement overwhelmed me. All I could do is weep and sob into my hands. I have never felt so much love. I felt God's arms around me right then and there. It's something you would just have to experience. I understood at that moment what Proverbs chapter 3 was talking about. Our way of thinking is to limited compared to our Father's. We can not begin to live this life and handle everything that comes our way on our own. We need to be dependent upon God. When He speaks to our heart and tells us what to do and what He is going to do, we must trust it. He is not limited like we are. He will finish what He starts and give us what we need to accomplish it. I will trust God in this process. I have to. Without Him it will be impossible. 

 Baby Anderson, I can't wait for you to know our Savior. I have so many things to teach you. I can't wait for you to feel His love and care for you. I love you so much and can't wait to see you face to face. It will be a God moment for sure. I am praying for you and your Mother. Dad

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