It was Charity who first got us all excited about Bread Of Life, because of a chance encounter she'd had with the owners' daughter at a Dollar General in Springfield. [what are the odds!]
We knew it was an organization that helped deaf people in Vietnam by running a restaurant that serves western food; we also knew we would have to make it one of our dinner stops.
On mural day #1, we had to stop in Danang to buy some plastic buckets for paint. Naturally we went to the container store [Vietnam style...shops here are very specialized. This one sells plastic and glass containers of all shapes, sizes, and purposes. see?], and what was right next door?...Bread of Life. It was closed on Sunday, but we were excited to find it was so close.
At Tam Ky we'd met this friendly girl who also volunteers at the orphanage from time to time, and we discovered she works [wait for it...] at Bread of Life.
We can't escape this place.
So finally on Monday night we [along with Robert] piled in some taxis and headed back to Danang city, weaving through traffic and dodging scooters along the way---an experience that is going to make Missouri drivers seem so boring by comparison.
When we approached Bread of Life's open door, we knew there was something different about this place: a well lit and conspicuously clean atmosphere, greetings from smiling wait staff in red polos. And a big difference, compared to other Vietnamese restaurants, is the MENU.
[feel free to hum "food glorious food" from Oliver as you read this]:
pasta
pizza
burgers
fries
Something about well-made, familiarly-flavored food is comforting like a big ol' hug from Grandma.
As we poured over the menus and bartered for sharing-rights with each other, the founders of Bread of Life told us a little about their organization. Bob and Kathleen Huff started B.O.L. 10 years ago, after they'd been working with a humanitarian group called World Concern, out of Seattle. They saw an opportunity for working with deaf people in Vietnam, because there are few services for the deaf here and fewer people who speak sign language.
Bob said it's hard to raise funds for a "big, long, forever project that people can't get a piece of," but this---a restaurant and training center, employing and educating workers who are deaf---is a small enough [but HUGE] project, and they've found real success.
So here's where our coffee date comes in.
Last night for dinner Sesha, Brandon, Erin, Hanna and I all went back to Bread of Life for Deliciousness Round 2. We recognized our waiter from Monday night as a charmer who had signed a sleepy face [you know, where you make a pillow out of your hands?] for those who got decaf Saigon iced coffees.
Erin asked him how to say some things in sign language [she remembered much more than she'd thought at first] and through a mixture of signing and writing we chatted with this delightful guy named Chan for the duration of our meal. [After he and Sesha returned from a scooter ride to a photo-developer, that is.]
Chan taught us thank you, you're welcome, good, and [most heartwarming of all] friend.
I remembered random, impractical signs from student council camp like hamburger and vacation, but from this limited knowledge was able to piece together THANK YOU GOOD HAMBURGER.
He wanted to know our names and ages, so we wrote that down and then he signed all our names. We talked [through signs and writing. so so cool.] about how long we'd be in Danang, why we were here, as well as his story and education [went to school at Village of Hope, and has been with Bread of Life for 3 years.].
We were sad to say goodbye, and that's when Chan suggested we all meet this morning for coffee at a little place he knows in the neighborhood. So we [through careful rechecking of understanding] decided on 8:30 at Coffee Wonder.
ps--That's a happy burger face...
pps--For a good time, seriously check out all the links in this post. I think you'll be as inspired as we were.
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