Hoe Hoe Hoe

DSCF6941, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Hoeing the garden.

Working Hard in the Garden

DSCF6939, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Working in the Garden

DSCF6942, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Here we all are, working in the garden. We eat the produce. Someday we'd like to sell the extra we grow. Our garden is looking really good lately.

At the Beach

DSCF0041, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Our kids can swim, but we didn't want any tragic accidents, so they are wearing life-vests to play and swim in the ocean. We live about 30-35 minutes' drive from the beach.

Children Drawing

DSCF6525, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

The children, inspired by the Manteca Team's crafts, are doing their own craft time on their walls, drawing pictures.

Orphanage House

DSCF0002, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

This is the house where I live with my wife and children. You can see the little "sala" we call it, the little "shack" at the back of the house for resting and playing in.

Gift Bikes

DSCF0003, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

These bikes were a gift from a doctor from Switzerland. He gave these 5 new bikes to the children.

Sunday Church Service

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Every Sunday the kids meet together to pray and worship the Lord together.

Digging a Landfill

DSCF0099, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Our old landfill is full, so we had to dig a new one. In our district there is still no trash pick-up. The garbage we put in there is mostly leftover food. The glass, plastic, metal and cardboard we collect and sell.

Visiting the Stinky Flower Park

DSCF0117, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Right now the children are taking their annual tests. After this, they will have their annual “summer” break, for about 5 weeks. This is a rather stressful time for them. When they start the school year again we will need to buy them their new uniforms (all school children in Thailand wear uniforms.) They will also need new shoes, book bags, pencils, erasers, and other school supplies.
These 5 weeks of summer break they will go to stay with their relatives. Aunties, uncles, grandmas and grandpas.
We are interested in starting a motorcycle repair shop. We don’t have a mechanic, but there are several children who are interested in doing this as a occupation. It is also something they can learn at home. There is also time to practice this occupation. It would also help with funds for their food and necessities. It is also an occupation that once they know how to do, they will be able to go to their home and make a living for themselves. We will need a building to do the business in, the cost of which would be around $8,000 including the labor and materials for a building about 60 square meters. For the cost of beginning the business, for the supplies of tools and parts, it would be around $2,500. In this building we would be able to start a restaurant, too. About 20 square meters would be sufficient for this. We would also sell things that the children would make, like brooms, baskets, and fruits and vegetables from their garden.
Our hope is that this orphanage will enable the orphans to have an occupation, so when they leave they will be able to use to make a living for themselves.
We thank the Lord for this past Christmas, the children were able to have a lot of fun, to get a new set of clothes. They are strong children, they go to school every day and work in the garden.

Helping Each Other

DSCF4542, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Bik and Tak are helping each other with a load of garbage.

Orphans at Southern Thailand Orphanage

Copy of DSCF0054, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Here we took a picture of everyone, including the dentist that came to visit us.

Natural Woven Bag

Natural Woven Bag, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Handwoven Handbag

Handwoven Handbag, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

These bags are lined in cloth and our women sew the handles in.

Wrap Skirt

Wrap Skirt, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

This is a wrap skirt made out of very pretty material.

Lovely skirt/scarf set

Lovely skirt/scarf set, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

This is a special set that we are proud of.

Mothers working together

Mothers working together, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

These women are tsunami survivors, mostly wives of fishermen, and locals of Nam Chem area trying to make a living. This group of women were organized by Guy.

Samruam & Guy

Samruam & Guy, originally uploaded by oceanicthai.

Here is a picture of us.

Please pray

Please pray for the orphans that they will take their studies seriously and do their homework. Right now the children are planting vegetables, and they have to take care of the vegetables every day. They have little to no experience planting vegetables, and it will be somethingP new for them to take care of vegetables every day. Please pray they will learn how to raise healthy vegetables that we can use to eat.
Please also pray that they will understand the things that we teach them in the evenings about God.
Thank you, and may the Lord bless you.

Baan Nam Chem Displacement Camp Crafts

My wife and I helped start the Baan Nam Chem Thailand Displacement Camp Handicrafts group. This is a group of ladies, including my wife, who make beautiful handicrafts to help earn a living for themselves. These ladies are the wives of fishermen of the town of Baan Nam Chem, the hardest hit area of Thailand during the 2004 tsunami. About 1/3 of the residents of this town perished. The ladies doing these handicrafts were either surviving victims of the tsunami or affected economically by it.
They make lovely sarong skirts, scarves, rattan handbags with cloth lining, necklaces made from large freshwater pearls, some white, other strands are black pearls. They make placemat sets with coasters from woven fabrics. I will post pictures when able.

Every handicraft they make comes with a paper label in the storage bag, "Produced at the Baan Nam Chem Displacement Camp by victims of the tsunami." The biggest problem is that we don't have anyone to buy the products, because we don't have many tourists anymore.

I run an orphanage in Southern Thailand

My name is Somruam Promkiri. I run an orphanage in Southern Thailand. My wife's name is Sotsay. I have 3 children of my own, Isaiah, our son, is 12 years old, Ezra, our daughter is 9 years old, Pantasat, our second son, is 6 years old.
I am Southern Thai, from the province Nakon Si Thamarat. I have been a Christian for 12 years, I used to be a Buddhist. I used to be a very strict Buddhist, I didn't eat meat, I wore the dark orange robe of the Santiaso order, and I didn't wear shoes.
I had a friend that believed first, before me, and I went to go visit him. He told me who God was and gave me a book. I read it but didn't think much of it. One day something happened that made me realize there must be a God. One day there was a big fire in farm next door to my friend's house. There was no water to use to put it out. I thought of God, the God that my friend talked about. So I said, "If there is a God, let the fire be put out." I didn't think much of it, but after about 10 minutes the fire went out. After that I went to go visit my friend again, but he wasn't there. Instead, I ended up talking to a Swiss missionary couple. The first time I went alone, the second time I brought my wife. They asked me, "Do you believe?" So my wife and I went to bed that night and talked, "Should be believe?" We decided together to believe and start a new life. That morning we believed.
After that we worked at an orphanage in Bangkok with a missionary with Overseas Missionary Fellowship from Switzerland for 5 years. After that I went back to my home area and started a church. I did this for 3 years. After that I worked with the Phantasanya Foundation, or Covenant Foundation in English. I have worked with them for 4 years now.
When the tsunami happened here in Phang Nga I brought a team to help. The team was a team of Thai people who helped with the mothers of newborn children in Bang Muang, here in Phang Nga. The team of 8 and myself lived in a tent for a year and helped out these new mothers. We helped them with getting milk for their babies, as well as helping the families find work. After 4 months my wife joined me, and lived in the tent as well. We left our children with family. Total I spent a year in the tent, my wife spent 8 months with me, helping out.
After this we opened an orphanage. At first we had 8 children, in the first year. In the second year we had 24 children.

The tsunami was nearly 2 years ago, but raising orphans is a very long-term project. At first there was a lot of help for the orphanage, but sometimes I feel it has been forgotten. My family and I are still here, with full hearts wanting to minister to these orphans. If the Lord puts in on your heart, please pray for us, or if you are moved by the Lord, please help us out financially.