I was born in a small villiage in Thailand. My family was very poor.My father sold fish to the locals. I remember I was happy to always be beside my mother. I would love to watch her smile and sing.

I didnt know we were poor until I actual grew up and as I think back to those days of my young years I cry alot just to the fact that my mother wanted me to be successful. When I was 5 I remember some man driving around our villiage offering to buy girls and telling the family they would send them money every week. My mother often hide me telling them she had no girls just boys.

Everytime we had a birthday my father would bring make us milk and sweet bread. He would work many days and come back after a month just to feed us. I remember seeing my father crying and my mother cry as she gave up her rights to me in the high courts to an american family that had visited our village every year for as long as I remember.

I remember my parents telling them to please take me. They didnt want to sell me to the bad men that came looking for kids. They couldnt bare the thought of me being sold into sex traffickers.

So when I was six years old my parents went to court and signed their rights away. They promised to write me as long as they had the money and promised it was the best for me. I remember holding on for dearlife to my mother. Begging her to please dont do it and pleading with my father to reconsider. Telling him I would try harder and help with work.
With tears in his eyes he said "No , my child" I do not want you to work. I want you to go to school and become successful. I dont want to worry about you being abused into a nasty world of criminals. I love you so much Please Please forgive us.

He gave me a box wrapped up and said when you want to see us open this box and you will find our pictures inside. I was numb all I remember after that , The judge saying Mercy welcome to your new family . (My american family named me Mercy Rose, but in american they called me from my birth name. It wasnt until I got into school that I let others just call me Mercy. )

The american family and my original country got me a new birthcertificate,passport, and visa. I was now an American Citizen.


****I didnt open the box until I was 14**** Yes they did write to me alot and Iam very grateful they did it too. I was just angry because I didnt know what poor was. I thought it was normal to play in the dirt with rocks and twigs. To run barefooted with a dirty shirt with holes. To drink unclean water.

My real parents sent me pictures of them that missionaries went there to help that villiage and often took pictures of me to them and viseversa . My parents made them a house and bought them a car. To show them appreciation how much they loved me and welcomed them as a second family. I often didnt want to look at the stuff my parents sent me. It was hard I missed my life there so much. Then it was bad news when some local girls got sold and two escaped back to the our village telling the torture they were forced to do.
They were always saying how lucky I was to have a family like mine to be giving into a better place.


I opened the box It had pictures of me as a baby, my parents pictures and both grandparents. I had pictures of my brothers. Also had my fathers life savings in there. Money he had saved. It was 23 dollars. I cried so hard that day and was very thankful to know my family really loved me to give me everything they owned as in money and the only pictures they owned.

My american family put me in a boarding school so I went to the best schools in the country. I became a dancer, then a model and on my free time a freelance writer.