This past month has been filled with quite a bit really.  In early February we spent a week at a marriage course put on by the OMF Medical Adviser for Thailand and her husband.  Sara and I have had our fair share of marriage evaluations, counseling, etc leading up us moving overseas, but it was nice to get away for a week and once again reflect on the things we do well and things we could do better–which is all the more important when we find ourselves living our lives so far removed from the support of family and friends back home.

The weekend following the marriage course we were once again off to another retreat.  This time it was a retreat for all first-term missionaries with OMF still in the language program.  At first we were less than looking forward to this retreat.  Sara hadn’t been feeling the best due to Baby Sarver and the idea of another several days away from our own bed didn’t make us too excited for this adventure.  And, as often happens during those times, we were pleasantly surprised.  It was a great weekend!  We got to catch up with old friends from Language School days and meet some of the new students that have come to the field since we left Lopburi many months ago.

Then that next weekend we were once again off to another Thai province.  OMF in Thailand runs two guesthouses primarily for missionaries serving around Asia.  We had been asked to help fill in at the guesthouse for 4 or 5 days so the couple that usually runs the holiday home could have a bit of holiday themselves.  We looked forward to seeing a new area of Thailand and being right next to the sea.  Sadly we didn’t have much free time to play around in the ocean as the guesthouse was completely filled!  But even then we were able to have a few minutes to take a walk on the sandy ocean-side and soak in the view so different than the concrete playground that is Bangkok.

A beautiful sunrise in Prajuab, Thailand

Finally we are back home here in Bangkok.  I’m still figuring out life having a pregnant wife…  Still figuring out how to navigate day-to-day problems such as broken water pipes, oil changes in the motorbike and being locked out of our own home…

But the key is just that…  We ARE figuring out… Thanks for your prayers!

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Back in December we took our (semi) secretive trip home to the States.  This was the first time in a year and a half that we had been home…. …and it was amazing!  We got to spend Christmas with family, New Year’s with friends and snow up to our knees throughout most of our trip!

It really was a great trip.  Once “home” in the US we realized just how much we probably needed a break from the daily grind of Thailand.  For the first time in a long time we were actually able to completely relax, let loose and just “be” around family and friends…  And honestly, it’s helped us get a new passion for the work we are doing here in Thailand.

Christmas with Sara's family

My Mom's side of the Family

You can see more photos of our trip home via Sara‘s Facebook album here:  http://www.facebook.com/saraj.sarver#!/album.php?id=153800143&aid=2024629

So, what else is new?  Oh yeah, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!!!!

We found out early in December but have waited to tell everyone until just recently.  Since coming back to Thailand we’ve chosen a hospital, met the doctors there and have had one of our first ultrasounds…  To say that we are excited/nervous would be an understatement.  We are completely filled with both of those combating feelings!

So, yeah, that’s what we’ve been up to!  Now that we are back and getting settled in, stick around for many more updates on life, ministry and that little Sarver baby that is soon to come!

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And, honestly, it’s been a really good change of pace.  You know, some days have just been language learning in the past year… even some entire weeks.  But it’s nice now to have other things on the to-do list.

I’m in the middle of said to-do list now with much more to finish up before the day ends here in Thailand, but I was just reflecting on the blessing that it can be to just be busy sometimes.  I like feeling productive (and sometimes even like feeling unproductive on certain days), but this has been a nice change of pace for me.

So, I’ll leave you with a HOT picture of my wife and I!

November, 2010.

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Seeing as it is Thanksgiving day, I figured I would take the time to reflect on this past year(s) and give you 10 things I am thankful for.  Now any good Thanksgiving list could easily be pages long, but I’ll keep it to 10 things.  Mostly because 30% of you reading this probably won’t even make it to #8!

November 2010

1.)  I’m thankful for my wife. There has been plenty of stress, highs, lows, pain, sorrow, agony, irony, anger, and felony-committing rage at times in the past 8 years of us being together.  Oh, and love too…  But still, I absolutely know that my life would fall apart without her there to hold it all together.  Sure, I like to pretend that I could do it on my own if I had to, but truth be told, I’d be in the corner rocking all day without her.  So, Sara, I’m thankful for you!  Your patience with me.  The joy you bring me…  And even the times that you throw your little fits about something that I have done wrong….again.  (You should realize by now that I do some of those things on purpose just to ruffle your feathers…)  <—  Time for marriage counseling?

2.)  I’m thankful for the opportunities that we have had the past few years to live an amazing, adventurous life.  We love Thailand.  We love travel.  We love new foods, new languages, new people…  But being an Indiana boy from the cornfields, I never imagined that I would be living in SE Asia doing what I am doing every day!  This could be the best job ever!  (Some days)

3.)  I’m thankful for my family. Between about being arrested on a few occasions growing up to being a Children’s Pastor, and now a missionary in Thailand, I’ve put them through a lot.  But I know that my family is both one of the most messed up & most unconditional loving group of people I have ever met.  I miss you all and I am sad I can’t be around for all the conversations, laughs and inappropriateness this Thanks-turkey-day…

4.)  I’m thankful for God’s provision. Let the clichés begin, right!  But seriously…  We are in our mid-20′s, and despite having 8 years of private college education, have no debt.  Not only that, but we have never NOT seen a need met…  We’ve seen God raise $50,000+ per year in order for us to be here doing what we do…  And despite the falling value of the US dollar and the hard financial times in the US, we’ve still never NOT seen a need of ours met.  In fact, we continue to see blessings beyond those needs in many areas…

5.)  I’m thankful for friends in the US that despite the 8,000 mile difference, continue to be there for me.  I have friends who Skype with me once a month, friends who comment on our Facebook stories.  I have friends who pray for us and give to us despite having their own young marriages and bills to tend to also.  These friends do more than keep me connected to home.  They also get me through many tough times here on the mission field.

6.)  I’m thankful for friends here in Thailand. Making good Thai friends is no easy task… …and still isn’t…  So I am thankful for the few that I have been able to build.  The language and cultural barrier can sometimes be pretty steep even after a year and a half of language study, but I am thankful that there are a few there for me if I need them.  A Christian Thai family in our neighborhood has all but adopted us into their family and literally help us navigate our new lives in Bangkok every week.  My language teacher (who is less of a teacher and more of a friend) continues to provide good laughs and help when we need it.  While I miss many of my friends back home, I am thankful that God has given us a few friends here to help us day-to-day.  And the number of those friends continue to grow as we get to know new people in our area!

7.)  I’m thankful for the internet. It almost sounds pagan for a missionary to say that, doesn’t it?!  But imagine just a few decades ago missionaries around the world had little-to-no connection with the rest of the world in any timely manner.  Today we have email, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, international calling plans, etc…  All of which help bridge that gap between here and home.  Sometimes it does get in the way, but other times it comes to rescue just when you need it the most.  So, yeah, I’m a big fan of the internet…  Hulu even lets us relax and watch some TV from home when we need to “escape”…

8.)  I’m thankful for our supporters. Just as I am thankful for God’s provision over these past few years, so many of you have been sacrificially giving your finances and time to support us and pray for us.  I never thought that I would be worthy of people’s sacrifices in their own lives.  Yet we have seen churches and individuals from all over the world chose to support us in prayer and finances.  Why?  I don’t know…  I’m thankful that God is bigger than the messed up man that I am.  And in being so, He has called people to support mission work in Thailand… …and specifically us.  Thank you!  But just a reminder, we don’t really deserve it…

9.)  I’m thankful for our new home. Some of you may know and many of you may not know, but our first year in Thailand was a day-to-day struggle…  Nearby clubs, bars and karaokes (which the Thai people love) kept Sara awake every night.  Not only that, but we had some new young neighbors move in about halfway through last year that played Linkin Park from 10 AM until 10 PM (he had no day job)…  Our new home here in Bangkok is nothing but peace… …which we love!  It’s quiet at nights.  People are friendly and willing to have an extended conversation despite our (still) broken Thai…  We just love it here and our monthly rent is within our means…

10.)  I’m thankful for Jesus. There.  I said it.  Maybe now is a good time for another cliché, but we’d have nothing to be thankful for in the long run had Christ not given himself for us.  Friends and family, while great here on earth, would be but nothing but lacking when it comes to eternity…  I’ve been in church services on 3 continents and can tell you that Jesus brings it all together…  Worshipers, while singing in different languages and tones, still sing that sweet song for the free gift that they have been given…  And, well let’s be honest, without Christ, I wouldn’t have a job…

I’d be glad to continue this list and tell you about how I’m thankful for my kid sisters.  How I knocked one’s teeth out with a crisp elbow the face when she was 3 or 4 years old.  Or about how I used to drag my other sister around the house by her hair when she was little, but I’ve already lost 30% of you a few paragraphs ago and now seems like a good time to stop vomiting up my thanksgivings in this post…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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I’ve managed to once again fail at blogging and keeping you all up to date on life here in Bangkok (i.e. The Big Mango).  We’ve been plenty busy and are continuing to settle in well to life these days.  Let me just update you in bullet points for the sake of my random thoughts:

• We’ve started language learning once again with a few people here in our new neighborhood.  We study every morning for a few hours and last week we had our first language check to see how we were coming along.  It was a long day involving a 2 hr. drive to Lopburi, a few hours at the language school, and then the same drive back home.  But all went well.  There are always things that we can be working on to make sure we are speaking Thai clearly and precisely, but overall we felt pretty good even with it being our first check while not at the language school full-time.  Praise God!
• We’re getting to know more and more people in our neighborhood, which is great.  Some neighbors don’t really know how to react to a white couple in their 20′s with no kids, apparently no job, etc.  But, relationships are coming along.  We’re especially excited about relationships with the kids in our area of this neighborhood.  They have been great to get to know and nearly every day they come to our door asking if I can play badminton with them or if they can borrow our rackets and birdies.  This has been a great blessing.
• We’re also slowly getting to know the Thai people at the church we are partnering with.  Deep relationships take time to develop and we are still at the front-end of creating trust with these Thai Christians, but every Sunday we slowly build more and more trust and comfortability with this body of Believers.  We’re even at the point in our Thai studies where we can translate about half of each sermon (give or take, depending on the topic).  Every Sunday seems like a humbling experience reminding us just how much we still have to learn in order to be effective in this environment.
• In a few weeks we will have our first visitors from the U.S. come and join us.  We’re SUPER excited and a bit nervous at the same time.  We’ve always been in love with Thailand and her people.  We want our visitors to have a similar experience!  We’re trying to plan what we can and be open to change as we need to be.  “The first is always the hardest” say the other long-term missionaries!
• We’ve recently been asked to help facilitate a retreat for short term workers with OMF here in Thailand as the normal leaders head home for Home Assignment for about a year.  We’ve never done anything quite like this, but we are excited about the possibility.  Thankfully we are able to observe one such retreat this weekend before we commit to anything.  We feel glad to be able to do something like this (as short term missions is what originally brought us to Thailand), but also a bit unsure about it all.  We’ve only been here a year.  Are we really able to speak into short-termer’s lives?  Just a few questions currently running through our head!
• Last week we started a weekly prayer time with another Christian couple in our neighborhood.  Aside from us and this Thai family, there are no other Christians here in a neighborhood of over 2,000 people.  Pray along with us as we seek ways to best impact our community and that meaningful relationships would open up for Sara and I so that we may have the opportunity to really speak the Truth into people’s lives!

These are just a few things on my mind, our schedule, and in our lives recently.  Thanks for being a part of all of this!

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Golden Tree Snake... DEAD.

Now, Thailand is known for having TONS of snakes (some poisonous, some not).  It’s actually probably more surprising that we hadn’t seen one here up until yesterday morning.  But, when you see a bright green with black banded snake IN YOUR LIVING ROOM, it gets your attention.  And as soon as Sara saw it, she was done.  I mean, like scared/creeped/shivering like a cold 9 yr old outside at 3AM by herself.

Anyways, the snake quickly made it’s way behind a book shelf that took about 20 minutes to remove book by book, bags, other junk until the snake was finally accessible.  Oh yeah, and that’s when it started CLIMBING UP THE WALL!  What!? Snakes on the floor is one thing.  Snakes in water are creepy.  But snakes slithering up a flat wall is flippin’ weird.  Luckily it was this weird act that was this snake’s downfall.  A quick smack to the “neck” (Do snakes have necks?  Like where would it start and end?  Where are the shoulders?) with an umbrella handle followed by repeated blows just for good measure and to make me feel more like a man in my wife’s eyes and it was all over with.  Well, except that even after dead, the stupid thing keeps slithering, coiling and moving around.  WEIRD!

So, yeah, I guess there is just another story to add to the numerous interesting moments that we’ve been collecting living here in Thailand.  Oh, and it seems the snake isn’t so poisonous for humans but it is known for being able to climb flat, vertical walls… …oh, and it can fly from tree to tree…  If you are super weird and are interested you can read more about this snake and other snakes in Thailand here and here.

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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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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.

Your Thoughts?

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[ht: JesusNeedsNewPR]

11 of the craziest Thai TV commercials this decade

Read more: 11 of the craziest Thai TV commercials this decade | CNNGo.com

Although most Thai TV commercials are only 30 seconds long, the talented, creative and, yes, sometimes mildly disturbed writers manage to come up with some very original stuff.

We’ve scoured Youtube.com looking for 10 of the best from the past decade but we’ve ended up with 11, as we couldn’t bear to leave any of these out. The range of emotions they cover is stunning, from goofy and tragic, to sexist and downright gross. These are the ones that made us laugh, spam our friends with them on Facebook and shake our heads with bemusement. Enjoy!

1. Politically incorrect toothpaste

Thailand generally lacks the fine lines that Western countries use to define political correctness, as this ad by brand Twin Lotus Herbal shows. It’s a noble message — appearances can be deceiving — but it would have made more sense had Terry Gilliam directed it.

2. High quality ceiling tiles

The ubiquitous gecko takes center stage as a lizard romance that is tragically interrupted by cheap ceiling tiles. The men at the end take their anger out on their friend as they choke him. “Why are you so cheap!?”

3. Sylvania lights

Thais are famously afraid of ghosts and can recognize several hundred different types of them to prove it. This brilliant ad for Sylvania lights shows that nothing’s really scary. As long as the lights are on.

4. Diet tuna

An oft-forwarded classic that plays with the legendary beauty of Thai females and, again, how appearances can be deceiving.

5. Thailand: Land of (painful) smiles

This ad takes aim at the famous Thai smile and how it brings in tourist dollars. But in order to offset how much oil Thailand burns, those smiles would need to get a whole lot bigger. A sweet ad with a macabre edge.

6. Staying healthy for the lads

Another example of Thailand’s refreshing lack of political correctness shows Thailand’s male/female demographics with a bit of visual flair. Too bad the ad is for fish strips, which smell bad enough to keep the boys away no matter what you look like.

7. Cheers Beer

Cheers Beer came out with a series of ads that showed how the little things in life can be cause for celebration. Not sure what that has to do with beer, but it’s well done.

8. Pay your bills!

A straightforward story with a slight Tarantino-esque edge, this is a good example of Thailand’s love affair with goofy visual humor.

9. My car! Eh, nevermind

A hotel valet gets a bit too excited behind the wheel of a nice car with disastrous results. Not to worry though, the car’s owner has some pretty good insurance.

10. Smartpurse Debit Card

A reliance on physical money can often be a liability, as this very funny but slightly distasteful ad shows.

11. Bad Eyesight

Possibly the most tasteless and/or funniest Thai commercial in history (depending on where you draw the line). A clearer example of the need for proper eyewear simply cannot be made. Best part – the look of ‘oh my God, they wouldn’t…’ on the guards’ faces at the 0:37 mark.

So, which one was your favorite/least favorite?