For women working in the commercial sex industry, the feeling of being loved for who they truly are rather than what they can give is foreign. Valentine's Day offers an opportunity for NightLight to show transformational love to these women in Bangkok and remind them of their value and worth. This year, we had an outstanding Valentine’s outreach night!
Our team gave out 1,500 gift bags with bracelets made by women who have left the sex industry to come work for NightLight Collection. The bracelets, which were donated by Ethic Goods, spell the word LOVE in Morse code. A group visiting from Texas also donated chocolate hearts to be included in the bags.
As we walked the streets of Bangkok, spreading a message of love to the karaoke bars, nightclubs, and brothels, we met women from Thailand, Vietnam, India, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Cameroon, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
NightLight Founder, Annie Dieselberg shared, "This is the month of Valentine's Day. There is little, if any, true love in the bars and streets where people come from around the world to engage with prostituted women. There is often a projected deception that love might be found - for a price. The truth is that many come are searching for love but it can't be simply purchased. Usually, they come with broken hearts feeling that authentic love has somehow evaded them. Putting down their money for a woman's time, they gamble for another chance at love. The women play the part while their broken hearts search for prince charming."
Love is a universal need. What a privilege it is to extend a small gesture of authentic, transformational love to them! The women were receptive and happy to receive gifts, and it was beautiful to watch many of them take out the bracelets and wear them immediately. We ran out of gift bags before we got to all, so next year we will need to increase the numbers.
Our prayer is that each beloved woman who received a gift bag will remember her value and feel the love of God shine into her life. We also hope that large outreaches like this plant seeds for us to build trust and relationship with the women over time.
