It has been a great time and tonight we went and spent some time with her brother and sister-in-law and their two kids. Pizza, bike riding, Bolt and home movies made up the evening.

Tomorrow the rest of the family shows up for a cookout and we’re praying for good weather. Goodbyes are never easy and tomorrow night will undoubtedly be a tough several goodbyes for us and our family out here…

Oh, and today is Sara’s birthday… Be sure to send her birthday love… She could use it about now!!!

It seems that the main actor, Evan Kasprzak, is quite the stud dancer (as if we couldn’t tell).  You can see some of his moves from when he was on “So You Think You Can Dance”.  And, while he’s not a Huntington student or Alum, he did dance in our courthouse in the early morning…  And that is about as exciting as Huntington gets at times…

It only happens every 1000 years.  Live it up!  Most of you will be living it up as you get your beauty sleep.

For the rest of you, where and how did 12:34:56 7/8/9 find you?

Recently we had a night with some friends we’ve made over the past few years.  Having grown up in rural Indiana I have seen first-hand how many young couples and families move out of this area.  I can’t say that I hardly blame them in all honesty.  It’s not like there is a whole lot going on around here these days that is all that excited to young people.

I was in that boat once… and some days I suppose I still am.

Anyways, Kyle and Rachel were one of the few young couples that decided to stick it out in this area and we have grown to know them quite well and love them like family.  As things continue to ramp up towards our leave date (now only three weeks away) we decided to make the time to have them over for dinner and connect with them once more.

Sara decided to pull off an “authentic” Thai meal…  at least as authentic as we could find the ingerdients for in rural Indiana and as authentic as our guests guts could take real Thai food.  Sara did an AMAZING job and produced quite possibly the best food I’ve ever tasted….  Thai or American.  She rocks!

Our night consisted of eating way too much food like good little Americans and talking a lot about Sara and I’s future and also the future of this young couple.  We talked.  We ate.  We grilled.  We laughed.  We talked.  We ate…

These are the relationships that I feel we will miss a lot in the coming years.  We take so much for granted even in our best relationships.  It was an amazing night and one we wished did not end so soon.

What relationshps do you need to thank God for today?

Philippians 2:10-11 “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…”

...face muscles...

The reality of us being only 3 1/2 weeks away from moving our lives overseas indefinitely is beating us over the head lately.  Sara’s been packing up dishes, we’ve been getting our vehicles ready to sell, last week I cleaned the garage up and organized my tools to sell, etc.  We’re enjoying wrapping up a lot of our loose ends lately.  Cleaning a gargage is always a good feeling, right?!  And we’re PUMPED to finally have Thailand in sight, but it hasn’t all been easy.

We’ve had to say goodbyes to good friends who moved overseas themselves over a month ago.  We’ve said our goodbyes to our only child (read dog), Lilly.  And over the next few weeks the goodbyes will get harder and more constant.  But the good Lord will provide the strength in our weaknesses…

So life has been bittersweet lately.  What’s been the flavor of your life in the past few months?

arguments aren't that simple

More on that later tonight or tomorrow, but for now I’ll boast a bit on some old photography work I did while in Thailand. You may have seen this photo before. It’s made it onto purchased prints a few times, it’s a book cover for a Polish psychology book (my first ever image used for a book cover) and now it’s been showcased again on the Digital Photography School website in their latest article: 10 More Tips for Stunning Portrait Photography.

It’s really quite a good article. Go check it out… Also, why is it that it had to snow as soon as we hit Indiana on our drive home from our Caribbean vacation?

Here’s what the reporter had to say after our interview…

Sarvers ready to embark on mission trip to Thailand

By Sherry Loshnowsky
Tribune Staff Writer

Brook and Sara Sarver

Can you imagine leaving the place where you grew up, attended church all your life, graduated from high school–and starting a family in a country that’s 6,000 miles away?

It might sound overwhelming to some, but it’s a dream come true for Brook and Sara Sarver.

The couple is preparing to move to Thailand, where they’ve made a ten-year commitment to serve as missionaries for the Churches of God and OMF, or Overseas Missionary Fellowship.

It’s kind of a whirlwind how it all came about. Brook graduated from North Miami High School and attended Huntington College, where he met his future wife. Both he and Sara majored in missions.

The two were soon engaged and as a part of the their schooling participated in a six-month ministry in Thailand. That was in 2005. At the time, they felt a calling for a more substantial commitment to minister to the Thai people.

“We even knew it while we were there.” Brook explained. “There was this overall sense of peace that struck us deeply … everything we were concerned about turned out not to be a big deal.

So they returned home, were married that summer and began preparing for a move that’s about to finally become a reality for the Sarvers. They’ve been planning and raising support for nearly three years now, while all along serving as the children’s pastors at Olive Branch Church of God — Brook’s home church.

The couple will make their journey to Thailand in August.

Their goal? Initially they have to learn the language well enough to not only speak it, but read and write it too. They also plan to build relationships with the Thai people and eventually plant churches to spread the Word of God.

They love children — after all, they are children’s pastors — and also hope to start their own family there.

While the Sarvers do have a few apprehensions about raising their children so far away from home, they continue to rest assured they will be right where God wants them to be and that God will provide their needs, whatever they may be.

“(Right now) I live three miles from my mom,” Brook said. “(But in Thailand), it will be just us — we’re away from our family and friends. But we’re still riding on the peace God’s given us.”

Another challenge the pair has spent much time preparing for is how to effectively share the gospel of Christ with the Thai people. Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist — Brook estimated other religions like Christianity and Islam make up only about five percent of the population. Buddhism was founded in the country.

“It’s part of who they are,” he explained. “Asking them to step out of (Buddhism) is like asking them not to be Thai, so we really have to concentrate on building a trust with the people.”

Those who are interested in supporting the Sarvers — with prayer or finances — or those who just want to learn about their plans should check out Brook’s Web site, www.two10eleven.com. They can also contact the couple at (260) 571-****[my censor for the web... Skype me at Michael.Sarver].

So, I thought that was pretty sweet… To all of you coming here for the first time after having read this article, thanks for the support and interest in what we are doing. Be sure to check out the Thailand page…. To get involved financially, please check out our site with our denomination…

Does your local paper do stories like this?

Anyways, check it out….  It’s good….  Real good….

So, why aren’t we happy?