Continued from…
Last night was incredible! It was just one of those nights when you know that someone much bigger is guiding you, making the impossible, possible.
Hannah, Becca, Stacey (from team 61) and I met up at 6:30 pm at the NightLight staff house. We were all exhausted, I had just sacked out and taken an accidental nap
Starbucks and they were all almost asleep. Late nights at the bars can do that to you. We discussed the possibility of not going.
Starbucks and they were all almost asleep. Late nights at the bars can do that to you. We discussed the possibility of not going.
After much deliberation I decided that I had to go, a friend from the U.S. had sent an e-mail that said. “I am crying and begging the Lord to give Mae (name changed) the freedom to hang out with you tomorrow night… Please, if you get this before you see her, tell Mae that there is a woman near her age in the
USA crying for her and desperately wanting to hug her. Tell her that she is loved and valued, even at a distance.” Even though all I wanted to do was sleep, I had to try and give Mae the message. The girls and I spent some time in prayer then set out to the red light district.
USA crying for her and desperately wanting to hug her. Tell her that she is loved and valued, even at a distance.” Even though all I wanted to do was sleep, I had to try and give Mae the message. The girls and I spent some time in prayer then set out to the red light district.
When we got to the bar Rachel (one of the Thai ladies on staff with NightLight, name changed) and I went in to make the purchase. My hands were a little shaky but I just kept praying under my breath. “Lord let this work. Allow us to give Mae and the other girls a night off.” The Mamasong (woman pimp) still had an opportunity to say no. Even in that place of darkness I felt a huge amount of God’s covering. I handed over 1,800 Baht (about $55) and was given three girls. I still can’t believe that even in this day and age I can buy people with money. It’s inhumane.
I could not wipe the smile off my face, even in that ugly, dark place. We left with Mae and two beautiful, shy girls, only 16 and 17 years old. They are cousins, coerced into the slavery of prostitution by their aunt, forced to make money by selling their bodies to middle aged American men.
While I was in the bar a few of the customers got up and left. Annie, the director of NightLight had explained to me that our presence in the bars pops the fantasy bubble that the men are entering into. We look like their mom, their sister, their daughter. That’s not the face that they want to see when abusing and lusting after 16 year old girls.
The girls returned to Rachel and I in their normal clothing. They looked like kids again out of the g-strings and tiny bikini tops. May looked so cute, baggy jeans and a loose top. It was like her clothing said, “don’t look at me, don’t pay attention to my body, I get way to much of that.”
The 8 of us went to a fun touristy street. We shopped, tried on sunglasses and bracelets, and laughed. It was a night of freedom, an escape from the prison that these beautiful girls spend their lives in.
During dinner Hannah brought out the glitter. The girls found it hilarious. Mae got a hold of the container of glitter and started dousing her self in it, putting it all over her arms and her face. Then she started in on me, all the while laughing hysterically. While this was going on Rachel leaned over and whispered to me, “Morgan, the other girls say that you are very lucky. They say Mae never smiles or laughs, this is the first time they have ever seen her happy.” Tears started to well up in my eyes, but at the same time I was caught up in the joy of the moment.
After dinner surprisingly the girls wanted to go dancing. God provided in an amazing way. The club we went to had fun music and a huge dance floor with no one else there. It was like God put a protective bubble around us so they could play, away from the beckoning of slimy 50 year old men. How beautiful for the girls to dance and let loose with no one staring at them, touching them, using them, seeing them as just another item to purchase. How do you teach a 16 year old what it is to be a teenager again after she has been prostituted?
Mae was hysterical. She was an even more spastic dancer then I am. She would slide in circles all over the dance floor and throw her arms up in huge motions, the type that would be used to land airplanes. I couldn’t believe that this was the same woman who spends every night tightly gripping the stripper pole, barley shuffeling her feet back and forth, moving as little as possible.
All to soon it was midnight and we had to get home, so we took the girls back to Nana. I wanted to scream and cry. Mae’s face fell, her entire countenance changed, back to guarded and expressionless. We hugged. I gave her a bracelet and through Rachel told her about my friend in the U.S. who was crying and praying for her. I told her that she was special and loved by me and by Jesus.
We took one last picture then watched them walk back into hell. As I write this tears keep surfacing. I’m thankful that Rachel and the other NightLight women will be able to follow up. Maybe some day Mae will work for NightLight, happily making jewelry, set free from her slavery. That’s my prayer, please join me in it.
If you want something concrete to do check out NightLight’s web site and order jewelry
www.nightlightbangkok.com. When jewelry is sold it provides jobs for girls who desperately want out of the horrendous sex industry.
www.nightlightbangkok.com. When jewelry is sold it provides jobs for girls who desperately want out of the horrendous sex industry.
