Earlier this week we read the story of Zacchaeus as it would be told in a Children’s Bible.  I’d thought I’d share that story with you!

Luke 19:1-10 - Thai Contemporary Bible

The Story of Zacchaeus Spoken in Thai
Click link to play Audio

This isn’t an exact translation of the passage above, but it should give you a good idea of what we have been doing and what we are continuing to work through.  Who knew learning a new language could be so fun/difficult!

Have you ever learned another language fluently?

It’s hard to believe that it has been over three months already that we’ve been in Thailand!  I apologize for not keeping connected with you all better since we’ve been here.  Let me bring you up to date on where we are, what’s been happening and what’s next!

First off, we are finally in our own house.  If you remember, we were living in a youth hostel for the first month and a half or so.  Our new place is small and has it’s own quirks…  but Sara is loving having a kitchen and we’re both loving having internet access… FINALLY!  Language studies have been going well.  In fact, praise God with us that we were able to retain much of what we studied 4 years ago!  Next week we both have exams on Module 4.  It usually takes new students 5 or more months to get to this point.  This last module has been quite difficult actually.  We’ve been learning to read and write in Thai!  It’s been great to finally be able to make sense of signs all around you, but our shopping trips have tripled in length because we often find ourselves staring at packaging in Thai for 5 minutes at a time trying to make sense of it all!

6 days a week we have been studying Thai and it hasn’t always been fun, exciting, etc.  The past month has seen it’s ups and downs.  Our new house has some late-night bars that blare their music until 3 or 4 in the AM.  Sara hasn’t been sleeping the best.  At times she is willing to give up her kitchen and oven for a good night’s sleep in another home.  Seeing as it’s now November, we’ve pretty well missed all of Fall back home… Sara and I’s favorite season.  My brother bought a house and the entire family has been working on getting it remodeled and livable… Something we wish we were part of.  Levi and Michelle (my oldest brother) will be having their child tomorrow and we will be 8,000 miles away.  Being a good student isn’t as easy as it used to be.  Spicy food isn’t always fun.  Neither is 90-100 degree temps everyday.  Sara’s grandparents have been having some serious medical issues…

We’ve really been missing home, the comfort of knowing what to expect, KidStuf, the OBCOG staff, family, friends, reconnecting with you guys who believe in us in person.

At the same time, God’s blessings wash over it all.  We’re excelling in the language learning.  We DID get a home of our own rather than a youth hostel room.  We sang a worship song in Thai (video here:  http://www.vimeo.com/7364518 ) !!!  We’re settling into a new church family in a city about an hour away from the city we are studying Thai in.  The services are all in Thai but there is a great community of young people to connect with!  We’re making some good relationships with people we play badminton with several times a week.  We have a motorbike that we have been able to use for the time being!  With less distractions and new stresses, Sara and I have found much more time to spend just together.  No “work” to get in our way…

God continues to amaze us.  We saw him move some HUGE mountains in getting us here.  And daily we see him move mountains before our eyes.  We know this is what and where He has built us to serve…

A few things I’ll ask you to specifically prayer for:

1. Around Christmas we’ll be taking a few “field trips” to Bangkok to try to find a good fit for us at a church ministry there which we will join once completing our year of language school in this city.  Prayer for wisdom, guidance, and patience.  Aside from the church we will also be looking at housing options.  Pray for this also as we hope to begin having children within the next year.  We’d love to find the perfect place to begin our family!
2. Pray for our remaining time at the language school.  We get the feeling we’ll be here until May or June of next year based on our current pace.  Pray that we are able to continue putting language learning first and that God would provide us some good relationships with Thai people to work through the language together.
3. Pray for our new home.  Some nights Sara sleeps just fine.  Other nights the loud music keeps her up.  Not sleeping really adds to the stress levels around here!  We’re trying to be patient and figure out the most culturally appropriate way to go about tackling the issue and at the same time trying to be patient and wait on God to move yet another mountain for us!
4. The Holiday season is quickly approaching.  Pray for us as we find ourselves so far away from friends and family.  Even little things like thinking about the Christmas Eve services at OBCOG and how we will be missing them can bring tears to our eyes…  Pray also for our families back in the States and they will surely be missing us (I hope?) during the Holidays….

If you’d like to stay more in touch with us, check out our websites:  http://www.two10eleven.com and http://www.unglamorouslove.com

Every Tuesday Sara blogs about something new in Thai food or ways she has found to replicate food from home here in Thailand!  I tend to be a bit more sporadic, but either way, it’s worth checking into!

I want to thank everyone for your prayers for and thoughts about us.  It hasn’t always been easy but God continues to reign after the first 3 months and we look forward to what’s in store in the next 3 years!

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Brook and Sara sing Thai from Michael Brook Sarver on Vimeo.

After two months of language study in Lopburi, Thailand. Sara and I have finally learned enough Thai to sing a song together.

This was for a special session in which all students come together to learn about Thai culture, beliefs, and customs…

You can’t imagine how difficult it is to play, sing, and read all in a split second when you aren’t all that familiar with the language!

Follow up at:

http://www.unglamorouslove.com

or

HERE

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday!  Your thoughts and comments were such an encouragement!

Over 100 people commented via Twitter and Facebook and despite being over 7,000 miles from home back in the States, we felt a bit closer with all your thoughts and good wishes!

Thanks!

I’ll be real honest.  I don’t really know what Darla does or what the company she works for does either.  I’m lazy in that manner.  What I do know is that this video should rock your understanding of this world that we live in.

This morning I watched a live broadcast of a U2 concert via YouTube.  I sat in Bangkok, Thailand and watched a live video feed via YouTube of a U2 concert back in California.  But what really blew my mind was when they had a feed coming from the international space station > YouTube U2 concert > us in Bangkok while I carried on conversation with people from all over the world in real-time!  Blew me away!  What is this world that we are living in?

Exactly how small is it?  I can video chat with family and friends Skype.  I can host a conference video chat with several people at one time from all over the world at once.  And share conversation in a split second with content generators all over the world.

How can we as ministers of the Gospel redeem this technology for His work?  How can we, as missionaries, use the understanding as we reach out to those around us, be it in Indiana, USA, Southern California, or in Bangkok, Thailand?

In the coming months and years before us we will see this technology unfold and our understanding/embracing of it should move forward also…  How will we be a part of it?

Your thoughts?

I found this from a friends Facebook page.  Kind of amazing, eh?  In my drinking days I wouldn’t want to play them in beer pong…

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Wearing my sick face...

I haven’t been feeling well all week.  It’s a simple head cold, but it is somehow taking me down…

I hate being sick…and I hardly ever am.  But I just haven’t been able to kick this bug I picked up.  And, you know the only thing worse than having a cold?  It’s when you have a cold in 95% humidity and 90 degree temperatures!

Tomorrow we leave for a day-trip to Cambodia to take care of renewing our visa and I really don’t want to have a foggy head all day.  So, this afternoon I took a 3 hour nap…  Yep, that’s right, a three hour nap…  And it was glorious!

So, how do you handle being under the weather?

Thai Consonants ... Still another 20 some vowel sounds to add!

Sara and I had our language checks on Tuesday morning and with that finished up the first three modules of our study of the Thai language.  Up until this point everything has been spelled in western phonetics so that we are able to learn to speak.  Well, upon completing those modules we have now moved onto reading and writing, and let me tell you, it is ROUGH!

The Thai language has 44 consonants and over 20 different vowel sounds and 4 tones markers (that mean different things depending on the class of the consonants they are used with).  Needless to say, our brains have been exploding with trying to wrap them around this new challenge…

While it’s possibly been one of the hardest things we have ever had to learn (besides learning how to be a good husband), it’s also been one of the most rewarding… even after only a week.  I wish you could have seen our faces the first time we read a word on our own!

We feel all excited likes kids but all tired like grown adults trying to learn to read…

Wanna learn a bit of Thai yourself?  Check out www.learningthai.com… it’s a great online resource!  Also, you can read more details on the Thai script and alphabet on it’s Wikipedia page!

What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to learn to do lately?

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Thanks for all of the support over the past few months.  It has been exciting, trying, fulfilling, tiring and fun nearly all at the same time…and all the time!  Your continued prayers are more than appreciated!

I’ll translate for you what happened next:

Me: “Excuse me, the ATM machine seems to be broken and won’t give back my card.”

Banker: “One of our ATM machines?”

Me: “Yep.  The first one outside.  It ate my card.  Why would an ATM machine eat my card?  Did it not eat lunch?”  Lame joke, I know.  But I was trying!  At least they found it funny.

Banker: “Hahaha! I’m not sure if ATM machines have to eat.”

The nice banker finally goes to check the ATM and sure enough, there’s my ATM card.  But before giving it to me she needs to copy my driver’s license (because my Passport wasn’t with me).  So I sit down and wait for her to do what she needs to do.

Banker: “You look fatter in this picture on your ID card!”

Me: “I know!  It’s because Thailand is so hot all the time!  I sweat constantly!  That and all foreigners look fat compared to Thai people!  Here, have another lame joke.  But it worked…  The crowd goes wild!

Bankers: “Hahaha!  So, your name is Michael…like Michael Jackson?”

Me: “Yep, that’s me.  We’re both white!”  The lame jokes continue to pour out of me but I’d be lying if I wasn’t a bit (or a lot) proud of the conversation thus far…  all in Thai!

Bankers: “So, do you have a Thai girlfriend yet?”

Me: “Nope.  I have a foreign wife already…  One woman in my life is enough.  I can’t understand why a lot of men want more than one to deal with!”  Mildly condescending, I realize, but they thought this was hilarious!  Another point for me!

Bankers: “So I see your account isn’t with this bank.  Would you like to open an account today?”

Me: “No.  I haven’t eaten in days because I don’t have any money.”  A complete lie, but luckily they took it as the joke I meant it to be…

Bankers: “So how long will you be staying in Thailand?  Are you here on vacation?”

Me: “Nope.  I’m not here on vacation.  We’re here studying Thai but we plan on staying in Thailand for, who knows, maybe 5, 10, 20 years!  I like Thailand so much I’d love to live here until I’m GAY !!!!

Yep, that’s right.  After how proud I was to have such a long conversation entirely in Thai, tell a few jokes, and turn a headache into a good time I manage to pull something like this off.

The Thai word for old is VERY similar to the word for gay.  It takes quite a bit to embarrass me but this sure came close.  I just told an entire office of Thai bankers that I want to stay in Thailand until I’m gay!

This brings me to some closing thoughts.  In these situations you have to be able to laugh at yourself.  It’s not the first time I’ve made a fool of myself and surely won’t be the last.  I thank God for his grace as we fumble through learning a new language.  I thank Him for the good laughs in the afternoon and for supporters back home who, despite knowing I’m telling Thai people I want to be gay, will continue to support us and possibly even pray for us all the more!

You guys are the best!