Sabbath in Kuching

Today we got to sleep in a little bit, then went to breakfast at the hotel. After a leisurely breakfast, we took a tour bus to the Seventh-day Adventist church in Kuching. Matt, Meggie, and Royce gave short sermons, and the entire group sang for the congregation. It was fun to see so many familiar faces again. In fact, many of the people I was able to meet last year were there again this year. I think that was my favorite part of the church experience. I loved seeing old friends and meeting new people. :) After church, they invited us to a monstrous vegetarian potluck. We tried everything from Durian blossom to sautéed fern, to home made Pad See Ew. It was so delicious!! 

After church, we went back to the hotel for free time from 2 pm to 7 pm. That is the most free time we have had on the trip so far. We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves! After much debate about how to spend our free time, we went back to the room and took a nap. 

After our rest, we went to Dr. Perumal's family's home for dinner. As it turns out, his sister-in-law was having a 60th birthday party with the whole family, and they invited us to join them. Dr. Perumal told them not to bother, since we have 18 people this time around and since it is a special occasion for his sister-in-law, and we didn't want to impose. However, they insisted that we should come. What a privilege it was for us to be included! There were probably 75 people at the party. We all gathered around tables and ate from banana palm leaves with our hands. We got to meet lots of Dr. Perumal's family members, and saw some of the same family members that we met last time. (Jenna and Tori, Dr. Perumal's other sister-in-law, the seamstress, said to tell you hi!) I sat at a table with one of the nieces who is currently at university studying civil engineering. She explained some of the customs of Hindus, as well as the different customs for a birthday party. At a birthday party, not only does everyone sing Happy Birthday, but afterwards the cake is cut into small pieces and every guest goes up to the person having the birthday and feeds them a piece of cake, and the birthday person feeds the guest a piece of cake. It reminded me of the wedding tradition we have in the States, where the couple feeds each other a piece of the wedding cake. Everyone made us feel so welcome there. We had a fantastic time. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Indian food was THE BEST I have ever tasted. I can only hope to be able to repay all the hospitality that was shown to us tonight. 

With all this hospitality in one day, we're never going to want to leave Kuching!