I’ll be honest.  I don’t know where to start.  Last time I posted on here I was dealing with a snake that climbed walls and our final exams at the language school in Lopburi…

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Our new house!

But, here we are several weeks later.  Happily settling into our new home.  We love our little place.  The neighborhood is great and the people are even greater.  Kids playing in the street in front of our house every afternoon before dinner call me out to play soccer or badminton nearly everyday.  Neighbors who are anxious to get to know us and what we are doing in their backyard.  A Christian Thai family from the church we are partnering with has all but adopted us as their long lost children and have been SUCH a blessing.  They helped us navigate our rental agreement, purchase furniture, get internet in our home.  They’re so close that they even feel total welcome coming in our front gate and front door without warning! :-/

Seriously though.  We are so blessed to be here.  Sara has been able to sleep.  Our neighborhood is AMAZING!  The church we are partnering with is slowly getting to know us and we’re getting to know them….

We feel so blessed.  Thank you for your prayers through yet another time of transition in our lives.  We’ve not had a solid year of just “being” in quite a while…  We hope and pray that our new little nest here in the North side of Bangkok proves to be that little bit of “being” that we’ve been looking for lately…

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Thailand. 2005.

Hey, remember when we got married?  Wasn’t that a sweet day?  We listened to Nickel Creek as you walked down the aisle in my mom’s yard?  Remember how it was an AWESOME day for weather?  Remember how worried you were that it might rain on our outdoor wedding-parade?  Remember the night before when we were cramming last-minute music into a playlist for the reception?  Remember when we only had money enough to drive 2 hours to Indianapolis for our honeymoon?  Remember how much I wish I could have taken you to the ends of the earth to celebrate our special day finally coming when instead I took to you Buffalo Wild Wings for our first meal together as a married couple?  Hey, remember when we had to cut that sloppy honeymoon short so I could go for a job interview in Wisconsin?

I love so much about you…  …and I definitely don’t tell you this enough…

So, here are the Top Several Things I LOVE About You… (in no particular order… …I mean, it is midnight after all…)

• I love how beautiful you are.  Seriously, you all need to recognize that I am married to flippin’ sexy lady!  Even at 6 AM, with your tattered hair and horrible breath, you still got everything I saw when I first met you….
• I love that you and I, even after months of forgetting our giftedness, can come across a song in which we harmonize, sing together ridiculously, or sing along with an absurd YouTube song…  …I love that you love music just as much as I do…  And I’m not sure anything makes me feel more in love with you than when we are singing together…
• I love that you are soooooooo patient.  I’m pretty sure that when you signed up to be with me forever and ever and ever and ever you would have to be an AMAZING woman, but dang have I put you through the the grinder from time to time; yet, you still are patient with me.  Even as we moved to the other side of the world, you are patient with our situation (even though some times it sucks, hurts, is awful).  You still remain focused on the passion God has given you, the goals He has placed before you, and the purpose we have here…  You’re an inspiration…
• I love your sense of humor.  Anyone spending their day-in and day-out with me has to have one, but you have a sense of humor that sneaks up on me, catches me off guard, and never ceases to bring me a laugh…  …even if it is at my expense…
• I love that you love to cook.  I mean, my Cholesterol doesn’t love the fact that you love to cook anything I desire, but I do love the joy you find in creating new dishes, sharing them with others and opening our home so that others can come, connect, and relate together.  Oh, and the things you can do with food!!!!
• I love that you love old things.  Your perfect vacation would be to go look at old stuff for a week…  …be it houses, boxes from the 1700′s, or just to go to a museum…  you love old things!
• I love that through the last 4 years… … through all the things I have drug us through… …through all the transitions, goodbyes, hellos, aches, pains, joys, etc… …you still trust me.  You still believe in me… …believe in us…  Despite everything around us that at times seem like it may implode, you still are my biggest fan…

You are just as beautiful as the day I met you nearly 8 years ago.  Happy 4th Anniversary, Baby!  Sorry I couldn’t take you to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate…  I’m sure you understand

Here’s to 10x as many more anniversaries to come!

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I even got to ride my lang. tutor's 4-Wheeler for a bit. Sweet!

The exam went well today also.  Spent nearly the entire time just talking about the little victories I have had lately in using my Thai and getting things fixed or done.  It’s nice to once again… finally …feel useful.

Coming from the States I felt useful.  I was involved in a lot of things, I was effective at what I did, had a lot of things on my plate (as is my personality).  So, coming to Thailand has been a bit rough in some ways.  Without a good amount of Thai, I felt useless.  I couldn’t tell the mechanic that I needed my motorbike tire changed without both getting a headache and handing them out to everyone I was trying to talk to.  If something needed done at our home, I didn’t know how to give directions to our home and describe what the issue was over the phone. Early on, I couldn’t even describe how short or long I wanted my hair cut when going for a trim on the ole’ Fohawk.  But, finally, I am able to do all of these things… and once again feel a bit useful here.  I bought the parts needed and replaced a sink drain in our bathroom yesterday afternoon, I’ve helped move air-conditioning units at a local church, I’ve taken our washing machine to get repaired, I’ve called for a professional to come and service our Air-con unit when it stopped working…  Oh, and I’ve ordered pizza over the phone and it was successfully (after them calling nearly 4 times because they were lost) delivered.

So, maybe, just maybe, we’ve turned a bit of a corner in our language learning and our lives here after 10 months.  And in good time.  We’re looking to buy a vehicle soon, next weekend we will be traveling to look for housing in Bangkok for when we move next month, and the following week we will sit before the church board in Bangkok to finalize details of us partnering with them to plant a church in the coming years.

Thanks for all your recent prayers and encouragement.  Maybe we’ll be able to do this missionary thing after all…

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(Definitely worth clicking-through to watch in HD)

Many of you may know that I used to really get into Photography.  This video makes me want to get back into it.  And I think I will…

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Less than a split second later my wife, being as omnipotent as any human I have ever met, said, “That’s a dude.”

What!?

A dude!?

In my periphery she had a bust that said anything but “dude” and longer legs and a shorter skirt than I had ever witnessed…

…then I saw the Adam’s apple.  There’s not much you can do to hide that bad boy.  It just sticks out there and screams “I’m a dude!”

Sara didn’t have to do anything to make me regret my double take.  Indeed, it was a dude who turned into a dude-ette.

I’ve never felt so small.  So violated.  So hurt…

…than when my wife caught me double-taking on a transvestite…

The more we are in Thailand the better I get at deciphering the dude-turned-dude-ettes from the girls.  Sara has taught me well.  And women just seem to know the difference.  Adam’s Apple.  Shoulder structure.  Tone of voice.  All of these are a dead giveaway for any woman.  It’s the instinct they have. “One of these is not like the other.”  Women are probably better at “Where’s Waldo” than men also…  …it’s instinct.

Anyways, these are some random personal stories from our past in Thailand.  And, yes.  Those images above… …all dudes turned dude-ettes in the world renowned Miss Tiffany Universe pageant held in Pattaya, Thailand every year.  This year’s pageant just ended and Thailand prides themselves in being open to all sexual preferences, changes, and backgrounds…

Pray for Thailand and it’s mixed up views on sexuality and pride.  Pray for us as we minister in this context.

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Thanks for your ongoing prayers and support…  Life has been crazy over here and we look forward to sharing more and more about our lives here in Thailand!

Blessings!

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We play outside during the Thai water fight holiday, Songkraan

So, it’s pretty obvious that I have been the world’s worst blogger since the first of the year.  For that I am sorry…

I’ve been meaning to get some new content up on here for a while now but, truth be told, I didn’t know how to just jump back into it.  I’ve decided there is no smooth, amazing way other than to just do it.

The past few months have been interesting.  We’ve traveled quite a bit, settled in and out of language learning more than once, continue to make Thai friends and expand our vocabulary and depth of conversations.  At the same time, it has at times been more challenging than we ever had anticipated.  Language learning got old about the first of the year.  6 months into our time here in Lopburi and the daily task of language learning and classes was a really un-sexy thing to wake up to every morning.  Adjustment to the Thai culture and way of life has been more difficult this time around also.  If you follow Sara or I on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll know that our neighborhood can be quite loud most of the time, which means going home to find peace when needed has seldom happened for us.  That’s been tough.  We have also really missed our family and friends.  I’ve struggled with going from feeling like was an integral part to a ministry in the States to being only a decent language student who could barely tell you the story of Jesus walking on water and who is definitely unable to pray for anyone in Thai.  I have two sisters graduating from High School this year and will start their lives a bit more on their own.  Just yesterday, it seems, they were tiny 3 yr olds.

So, yeah, the past few months have been a bit more down than up.  But, at the same time, we’ve seen once again how God provides for us daily.  And yes, not much about being a missionary in Thailand is wonderful and comfortable, but God provides.  He sustains.  We’ve had breakthroughs in conversations with Thai people, I’ve been able to counsel a few of my non-Christian language teachers on family issues, and Sara and I continue to hold onto each other more than we probably ever have.

So, this is my attempt to climb back onto the blog saddle.  We look forward to sharing more about our lives here.  The ups and downs.  The breakthroughs and breakdowns. The little victories and failures.

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• In January and February of this last year it was “business as usual” in many ways.  I was pastoring at Olive Branch Church of God while Sara was still working at a local elementary school.  Among other things, we were in charge of planning our weekly KidStuf ministry, getting scripts to actors, music to singers, making sure audio clips and visual elements to the services were there waiting for our tech crew, and Sara and I had lines to memorize ourselves (usually done while watching SNL each Saturday!).  We’d usually have a read-through with our actors mid-week and then get to the church bright and early Sunday morning (5:30) to make sure it is unlocked, lights on, coffee brewing, and everything all set for 7 AM rehearsal…
• In March things started to change for us.  We both quit our jobs to focus full-time on support development for our Thailand plans.  But first, my Dad took Sara and I on a vacation cruise throughout the Caribbean.  It was AMAZING!  If I close my eyes I can still feel the ocean wash away all the stress I had built up in me.
• In April we started our travels to visit many of you in our numerous churches in several states.  In fact, by the time we left for Thailand we had visited nearly 40 churches and had visited 8 states!  I didn’t really record how many miles I had driven those months…  but let me tell you, we got to know that car quite well as we zipped to and from much of the Midwest!
• June of this past year we traveled out to Colorado to get to know OMF, the mission organization we will be working with in Thailand.  We loved Colorado!  Maybe someday we’ll find ourselves a little cabin in a woods somewhere to waste away in!
• By the end of July we were on our way here, to Thailand.  Must of late June and July is a blur for us.  We began saying our goodbyes and preparing our lives to move overseas for the next several years.  So many hours were put into tying up financial loose ends before leaving.  We thank God that in July we were able to pay off the remaining amount on our student loans!  That’s right, by God’s power and grace alone, we were able to pay off nearly $22,000 USD in student loans!
  • July also had us saying goodbye to our dog Lilly.  She was our baby substitute for our first several years of marriage.  It was SO hard to say goodbye to her…
  • July had us saying more difficult goodbyes to our families.  We never believed it would be so hard to leave the Midwest for the adventure in Thailand.  We were wrong.  It was TOUGH!
• August until now has been spent getting settled into our new lives in Thailand…and it is getting a bit easier as time moves on.  Stresses come and go, just like life anywhere in the world.  We’ve been studying Thai constantly for the past 5 months and it shows!
  • We praise God that we just heard that our yearlong Missionary Visa has come in which means we can now apply for our work permits!
  • We praise God that we have had the loving support of all of you in this past year.  Your continued notes of encouragement, care packages and prayers have been such a blessing as we get settled into life so different from what we know, so far away from friends and family.  Our support family rocks!

Ok, so that’s just a glimpse of our past year.  I could definitely type more, but I’m pretty sure most of you haven’t read up to this point anyways!  Anyways, thanks again for your love and encouragement!  So, what’s the biggest thing that happened in your life in 2009?

First off, we finished up our first “semester” in language study.  We’ve been hitting the books hard for 5 months now and it shows.  We are learning as much as our brains will allow us to cram in there!

Children's Christmas song in a Bangkok Church

Secondly, Christmas-time in Thailand and Thai churches is used mostly as a time for outreach.  Where we often use the Christmas season to solemnly reflect on the gift that is Christ, in Thailand we found ourselves handing out tracts and invitations to learn more about Christmas in a neighborhood where a new church plant is getting started, dressing up in all sorts of ridiculous costumes to act out the Christmas story to kids and youth in local schools, watching Thai kids put on a Christmas program, and Sara baking Christmasy things for our neighbors.

Local Thai students line up to learn about Christmas around the world and a bit of English along the way. See the dog lying there? Yeah, that's common here!

Thirdly, we spent nearly a week in Bangkok looking at possible ministry locations for us once we finish up out Thai language studies here in Lopburi.  We met a lot of cool people, Thai pastors with aching hearts for the Thai people, Bangkok universities and university students, just recently started church plants, and got to know several missionaries working in Bangkok quite well.  It was a great time and rejuvenating for us as it is easy to lose track of “what’s next” for us when all we have been doing is cramming new Thai vocab down our brains’ throats!

Christmas decorations at MBK, one of Bangkok's most well known shopping centers

Finally (but not really…  so much more has been happening!), we also took some time during this two-week break from language school to relax and have some time for each other….  AND IT HAS BEEN AWESOME!  While in Bangkok we took the time to watch a movie or two (in English) at a movie theater there.  We walked around and saw the Christmas lights and decorations (yes, despite not believing in Christ, the Thai people really do jump right into the decorations, Santa, light-up snow flakes, etc.).  It was so nice just to spend some time together and have some “us” time.  Despite not yet having kids and ALWAYS being around each other, enough “us” time has still been difficult to find lately…

Here’s a short clip of the commercial side to Thai “Christmas” taken by one of our friends also working in Bangkok.

We’re now back in our home in Lopburi and have a few more days before school starts back up.  We have plenty coming up to keep up just as busy.  The next few months we’ll start back up at the language school, travel to Malaysia to pick up our year-long Religious Affairs visa from the Thai embassy there (Praise God!), spend a week on on a Thai beach as after six-months on the field OMF suggests/strongly urges their workers take a vacation, more Thai studies and finally we will travel to Singapore for a month long Orientation course at OMF’s international headquarters.

So, there you have it.  We hope you all have had a great holiday time with family and friends so far.  So, tell us, what have you been up to?

Thanksgiving Message from Michael Brook Sarver on Vimeo.

A short Thanksgiving message and update on us here in Thailand!

Lopburi, Thailand. November 2009.

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