(brace yourself for a wordy blog entry hehe)last tuesday night i had the chance to have a late night dinner with Cindy (my dear sister, friend, and chinese tutor) after almost 2 weeks of not seeing her because she started working suddenly and had job training in shanghai for a week! it was great to eat and catch up with her again.. we ended up eating at my favorite "nanchang noodle" restaurant and decided to "go dutch" (aka American style of paying for yourself)- but little did i know that this would later be tough cross-cultural lesson and opportunity to give grace...
Cindy gave Lisa (the owner's daughter) 20 RMB for her 6 RMB meal and later discovered half way into the meal after she paid that she only received 4 RMB back... Cindy went to tell Lisa, who is also my good chinese friend, but Lisa didn't believe her and told her it was her mistake. Cindy came back confused and sad because she didn't believe her... I even saw that Cindy gave her a 20 RMB in the beginning and was set on getting her money back because it was an accident that they miscalculated. Coming from a "just and fair" culture in America- we don't care too much about face and would rather things to be right. But Cindy wouldn't let me talk to my friend about the dilemma because that would make Lisa lose face and damper our relationship... but i didn't want Cindy to lose 10 RMB (which is enough for 2 meals in China)- because it wasn't her fault. After going back and forth with Cindy about this matter that was very unsettling in my stomach I finally convinced her to take my 10 RMB so that she wouldn't lose her money and I wouldn't feel bitter towards Lisa. Cindy told me later that it was like a picture of grace and sacrifice- that He didn't have to pay for us but He did- and someone has to pay but he took it all upon himself! I'm not gonna lie, it was really hard for me to not judge Lisa for not trusting my friend or measuring this situation up to the "American" justice standards... but we all need grace, especially me, and this story reminded Cindy and i of His perfect grace that covers all!
on the flip side... the next night I had dinner with Laura, Lisa, and Hannah (two of the daughters from the "Nanchang Noodle" restaurant- which is actually called in Chinese "Old Six... Restaurant" because the dad has 6 fingers, but that's another blog right there.. hehe). they know we are leaving soon and we've been faithful customers and friends the past 2 years. Lisa is a hip, stylish, and generous 20 year old and Hannah is a cool, adorable, huggable 15 year old :) they invited laura and i to eat "huo guo" (hot pot) with them... like a sister date hehe... laura and i were not sure what the night would be like, especially since our Chinese is not VERY good and since they don't speak hardly any English! somehow, the Father was sooo good and we were able to enjoy a 2 hour meal together... speaking in Chinese! we talked about everything- from her boyfriend to school to why i even came to China! they of course didn't let us pay for a dime of the night and loved on us a lot. Hannah even wrote down a few phrases that she probably asked her English teacher how to say in english... such as "i can call you sister, ok?" and "do you like mutton?" and "today is very hot." hehe it was very precious and melted my heart. :) i'm truly going to miss these dear friends... it feels like yesterday i just met hannah and her younger brother and sister outside of their old restaurant singing and dancing for me- a random chinese like stranger... and now i'm proud to be their "jie jie" (older sister). He is good and gives me grace, favor, and amazing relationships the past 2 years that i will never forget. i hope one day they might know His good grace and love for them too!
here's a few pictures from the hot pot night :) yum!
lisa and i outside one of the most popular hot pot chains in china
do you see what i see? :)
the "jie jie's" (older sistas)
the "mei mei's" (younger sistas)
1 comment:
What a story! :) Thanks for sharing. Now I'm hungry. Haha.
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