‘God listens;’ New Orleans waitress gets $777 tip, donates it

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A server at a New Orleans restaurant received a generous tip from a customer. She said it was the answer to her prayers and now she is paying it forward.

“I tell him enjoy your food. That’s it,” said Ava Guan, a waitress at HoShun Chinese restaurant off busy St. Charles Ave. “So he gave me the big tip. I don’t know why, it’s so crazy. A surprise for me.”

She calls it a blessing after the diner left her a $777 tip on a $63 ticket.

“I can’t believe,” Guan says. “I think it was God [who] gave me the gift.”

Restaurant owner and manager Alice Ho said the tip came as a shock.

“Gave me goosebumps,” she said. “She told me she prayed that day and it came true. That means somebody listened. Someone listened.”

Before Guan’s night shift on Saturday, June 4, she went to her church, Olive Church, off David Drive in Metairie. She said it is a small church in desperate need of repairs and new air conditioning. She prayed help would come soon.

She said those repairs come with a hefty price tag, and members of the church started to donate their own money, Guan included. She said she donated $300 out of her pocket to help, but it wasn’t enough to cover costs.

So she donated her large tip to the church.

“I donated the money to Olive Church. It’s not my money, ok so I think the gentleman is the angel for me,” Guan says.

Calling the customer an angel, she wants to share her blessing and happiness with others.

“I think everybody needs an angel,” said Guan. “I think God listens and will help you.”

It was a night that brought hope to a busy little restaurant.

“I always think about the bright side. Always bright stuff,” said Ho. “I still believe everyone [has a] good heart. People helping people. Really. I mean it. Even in New Orleans.”

In total, Guan was able to donate $1,000 to her church thanks to the kindness of strangers.

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