Our group tipped him generously- 200,000 dong (about $10 bucks U.S.) which is a lot- considering that A- most people don't tip waiters in Vietnam, and B- a nice paying wage in Ho Chi Minh is only about $200 a month ($6.50 a day.) He probably makes even less than that, since he's a server and not in a highly skilled position.
This afternoon we were thinking of a place to eat lunch with our Vietnamese brothers and sisters. Thinh didn't get to eat with us last night because he had a BBQ with his family, so he wanted to check out this bun bo hue restaurant. Though we had already gone there last night, we decided to go again- just for Thinh.
We went back to the restaurant and our server was THRILLED to see us again. Even the other servers and cooks peeked their heads out, surprised and happy. The server pulled Hieu aside and explained that last night, he rang up one of our tables, but forgot to ring up our other table. He had to pay his tip money to the restaurant and still owed $400,000 dong ($40 bucks- a LOT of money!) to the restaurant. What a roller coaster night he must have had- first happy that he got a very nice tip, and then devastated that he ended up in debt to his employers.
So when we came back, you can imagine the excitement not only from him, but every worker in the restaurant. They couldn't believe we came back! What are the odds when there are so many delicious restaurants all over Ho Chi Minh?! We ate another delicious meal, payed the money owed from last night, payed back his tip from last night, and gave him another tip for his once again amazing service.
We've never seen a happier kid. He ran back and forth serving us, almost dancing as he ran. His smile never once left his face. Hieu told him that is was Jesus that brought us back to the restaurant today. As we left, some of the cooks and servers and even the manager came out, smiling, bowing and shaking our hands.
It is no lie that the Holy Spirit brought us back to the restaurant. We could have gone to another place but for some reason we were drawn back to this particular restaurant. He could have not been working today, or had an evening shift, but he was there.
A seed has been planted. God's care and faithfulness has been displayed. We pray that our will notice and experience Jesus Christ's love and faithfulness even more in the days/weeks/months to come.
^ the girls and our happy server ^
he had really cool hair too! man, was he esctatic to see me when I arrived back at the restaurant. He was nice as he gently explained his situation from last night. not one time did he demand his money.
ReplyDeletehe was such a great server.
thank you to everyone who has supported us with finances and prayer. you are a part of this story, as you have given us so much, so that we are able to bless those like our server, here in saigon!!
-Hieu
That was such a cool story!
ReplyDeleteI am glad the team is HEALTHY and WELL FED! =)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this blog, I think the SEAM team has just been lured into a shady scam. I think the waiter and the staff just played you guys for a fool. Vietnamese are great at math and NEVER forget anything that has to do with money and math. I don't want to sound skeptical, but I think you were just played. Be careful peeps!
Cyndy- normally I would have been skeptical too, but I really don't think this was a scam.
ReplyDeleteThe waiter was a young kid- 18 years old and the first night he served us the restaurant was super busy. I can totally see how the mistake was made, since we had one long table with about 15 people, and in a separate place, one smaller table of about 6 peeps. The waiter never demanded the money- just told us what had happened.
I may not be able to convince you, but we are all fairly positive that this instance was not a scam :)
Man I know Thinh is special but didn't know he is Jesus! I'm gonna have to start listening to him more!
ReplyDeleteowen???? what's in that coconut?
ReplyDeleteScam or not, God still gets the glory. What kind of testimony is it about God's grace when people scam or steal and those who chose to not conform to the world give with joy and willingness? I say you guys go back a third time and double the tip money!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I'm glad that you guys were able to be a witness through your generosity, gratefulness, and joy in giving...especially in the day-to-day things like going to eat at a restaurant! That IS your mission field :).
ReplyDeleteAnd scam or not, what counts is that you guys responded out of love and joy.
OpenRice is the Yelp of Asia. It shows a city’s most popular restaurants, ratings, menus, booking numbers, and everything in between. It’s widespread
ReplyDeletein Southeast Asia and a better resource than Yelp. It has listings for Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. The app
puts the power of the website at your fingertips.
App Name: OpenRice
OpenRice is the Yelp of Asia. It shows a city’s most popular restaurants, ratings, menus, booking numbers, and everything in between. It’s widespread
ReplyDeletein Southeast Asia and a better resource than Yelp. It has listings for Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. The app
puts the power of the website at your fingertips.
App Name: OpenRice
OpenRice is the Yelp of Asia. It shows a city’s most popular restaurants, ratings, menus, booking numbers, and everything in between. It’s widespread
ReplyDeletein Southeast Asia and a better resource than Yelp. It has listings for Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. The app puts the power of the website at your fingertips.