Painting in the Red Light District

In Khmer it says: "Free Portraits"

Today we took our paint brushes, paper and guitars and went to the Red Light district of Phnom Penh. I offered free portraits in water color and ink. I was able to tak to the women I painted, tell them they were beautiful and show them how beautiful they are in a painting. At first they were shy, but with a bit of  encouragement we attracted a crowd. A food vendor even set up around us! I had so much fun talking in broken Khmer/English and making them smile. The red light district surrounds Wat Phenom, a large park with a "mountain" (small hill) at the center. It is also a heavy drug trade area. With our music and art we were able to change the spiritual atmosphere of the park. People asked us who we were, a monk passing by asked to take a photo with us. I don't know any of these beautiful women's stories, but I can see in their eyes that they have been through a lot. They teared up when I told them they were beautiful, I knew they did not hear that very often. It was such an eye opening experience and I would love to go back and do the same thing (with more paper next time). One girl in particular was very excited about her portrait-- she even painted me afterwards. All in all; an awesome ministry experience. 

one of the girls painting me!

Adding some lovely music to the atmosphere