**This is a blog written by my lovely teammate Jessica Montenegro. She did a wonderful job and I stole it because my heart is really going out for these women and I wanted to share the facts with you.**
$2 for a soda and conversation
$10 for a day date
$12 for an hour
$66 for the whole night
Some of you might be thinking, what in the world is she talking about. I'm talking about the prices people have labeled on the girls that have been sold into human trafficking here in Thailand.
I don't know how many of you have heard about the issue of human trafficking. If you haven't, I want to take a second and briefly explain.
Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. Exploitation includes, but not limited to, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, or slavery. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad.
I want to give you some more numbers…
1.2 million children are being trafficked every year; this is in addition to the millions already held captive by trafficking
Every 2 minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation
The average age of a trafficked victim is 12-14 years old
Approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years
People are trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries… (in case you didn't know, there are 194 countries in the world)
The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess $32 billion a year.
These are global stats but it's not just an "outside of the states" issue it's a world issue.
At least 200,000 children in America are victims of sex trafficking each year.
This month is "Man-istry" month, where the women and men of the W Squad have been split up. My new team Relentless Rescue (Nicole, Jamie, Kursti, Rikki, and I), as well as, Team Tangled have been placed in Chaing Mai, Thailand for this month, where we will be working in the Red Light District. The Red Light District is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theatres, etc. The term originates from the red lights that were used as signs of brothels.
I want to give you another number… 1.
I don't want to say anything cheesy like one of those sad dog commercials with the music in the background that makes you heart want to break but…
My passion is to make these girls feel loved. Not love from me, not love from you, but the love that is above all… the love of Christ. I want these girls to realize that there is freedom for them, even in their situation, there is someone that loves them more that what they've ever been shown. I want to give these girls a break from "work" for a night to allow the love of God to be poured on them instead of someone physically forced on them.
You can be the one to help in one girl's life. You can be the one to give that FREEDOM FOR A NIGHT. The prices I gave above are the "prices" that have been labeled for the girls. Can you help me help them?
**If you have prayerfully considered this or if you'd like more information on how you can help, please feel free to send me a message on facebook or email me at: [email protected]. Team Relentless Rescue is working together to raise money to take these girls out. We are trying to set up a Paypal account. We have already received awesome donations. These girls are definitely going to be blessed this month!**
