Goodbye Goa

Cows on backpackers' favorite Arambol Beach 

It is unreal to think that I've spent six weeks in India already. It feels like time has solehow slipped away from me, and yet, when I think back to when I first arrived here it feels like it was ages ago. The road in India has been bumpy at times (both figurative and literal), but I can honestly look back at these past six weeks and say that I'm happy with the work that I've done here. I've made wonderful relationships with so many people: with the students at the preschool, with the families and children in our neighborhood, with the people working in our favorite shops in Vasco, and with the Goa base staff.

This past week our team threw parties for the neighborhood and the preschools that we worked at for a final farewell. The family I was closest with in our neighborhood invited five other girls and me into their home for dinner. (It was possibly the best Indian meal I've had yet). We've spent the past week closing ties with the people that we've come to love and said our final goodbyes. It has been a very busy and sad week because, well, my time in Goa has finally come to an end.

Neighborhood kids at our farewell party

Nevertheless, no matter how sad it is to say goodbye to arguably the most beautiful place in India, all of us on the team know that it's time to move on. The remaining weeks in India will be spent traveling to, and within, the north of India. We will be spending time in Delhi, Varansi (one of the two holy cities for Hindus), possibly the Himalayas, Agra (where the Taj Mahal is), and Mumbai. Our time will not be as scheduled as it was in Goa, and I believe it will be more crazy, more intense, more of a battle, and more spontaneous. As of now, the only thing I know for sure is that the team and I will be staying where backpacking hippies stay in Delhi, giving us prime opportunities to meet new people and have discussions about anything and everything with them.

Our team has been praying and we feel like these next few weeks are going to be more challenging than the last six weeks in new ways. In a way, we'll be experiencing a completely different outreach. And I'm so excited for it! It's going to be an adventure of a lifetime and I can't wait to get started. The first four people on our team leave by train for Delhi on Monday, while the other eight (including myself) leave on two separate trains the following day.

Please keep us in your prayers as we embark on a new season of outreach. Pray for safety, good health, team unity, boldness, and open doors and opportunities to share our faith and the Good News with others. Thank you for your continual support.

Blessings!

Asma and Salma, my favorite neighborhood girls

Neighborhood children

Katrine, Nathan, Lilian, Clo, and I with our preschool kids

Beautiful children

Life in India

View from the slum in Baina

Namaste!

Time flies in India! It's already the end of my third week here. We've had a slow start with our work, but we are finally in the full swing of things. Here's what my weeks usually consist of:

SUNDAY

Church in the morning- We've been going to two different churches of some of the base staff. It's so fun to experience church in India and be able to worship the same God as one international body.

Team meeting in the afternoon- We use this time to pray, worship, and to talk about the past week and the upcoming week.

MONDAY

Brila Preschool in the morning- Myself and three others help teach at a preschool where kids from the slum in Birla attend.

Baina Clinic in the evening- Four of us go to the Baina slum to speak to the women of Baina and to give out milk to them.

TUESDAY

Brila Preachool in the morning.

In the Birla Clinic's single room

Neighborhood in the afternoon- All of us feel that it is important to build relationships with the people in our neighborhood. The guys play cricket and talk to the older neighborhood guys (about 10-20 years old). The girls walk around talking to people outside their houses (and are sometimes invited in) and play with the neighborhood children.

WEDNESDAY

Team meeting in the morning.

Neighborhood in the afternoon.

THURSDAY

Birla Preschool in the morning.

Small group in the evening- This is just a time for the guys and girls to separate and get into a smaller group setting to discuss anything that we need to talk about or that's on our minds. Girl time is often a nice refresher.

FRIDAY

Neighborhood in the morning.

House Visits in Baina or Birla Clinic- The team splits into two groups. One group goes to Baina and visits people in their houses and talks to them. The other group goes to Birla to speak to women and hand out food. The groups switch locations every other week.

SATURDAY

View of the Birla slum

Free day- We usually spend our free time shopping in the town of Vasco or the state capital of Panjim and soaking up the sun on the tourist-filled Majorda Beach.

What's listed is just the planned activities that I do. There are often times when we have free time and choose to go build relationships with people. The days are full, but it feels like there is a lot of down time as well. We spend lots of time together with not a lot to do, so we often have to get a little creative. The team is creating a bond that naturally comes from spending so much time together in such closed quarters.

It has been such fun living in India and learning how to be a part of this culture. As a result, I am now close to becoming a pro at bartering and the Goan bus system. I'm getting lots of exercise from all the walking I do and my legs are getting toned from using the squattie pottie. But the food is so good and cheap that I can't stop eating! We have rice and curry twice a day, and I have yet to get tired of it. And I love trying new Indian snacks and goodies at the shops in Vasco. I'm now used to squeezing onto buses so full that Indians are literally on top of each other and close to falling out of the door. And so many people now know of us that they tell us what bus we need and when we need to get off even if we don't ask for their help! :)

Thanks for reading through my long descriptions of just some of my life here in India! There's so much I want to share, but just too little time, words, and space to write it all. Please keep this beautiful nation in your prayers!

Welcome to India!

It's hard to believe it's been only two weeks since I arrived in India. Straight away it started out rough, with only half of our team making it onto the plane from London to Mumbai. After waiting 24 hours to reunite, crazy jet lag, an 18 hour bus ride through the jungle of India, and extremely scary taxi rides, all 12 of our team members made it to the small town of Upas Nagar, Goa. We had a slow start with our work, allowing us to catch up on sleep, celebrate Christmas on the beach, and acclimate to the completely new culture of India. There have been some ups and downs, but I am falling in love with this place more and more every day. I absolutely love India, the Indian people, the music, the jungle nature, and the WARM weather!


Slum on beach at one of our locations



This is just a preview of the updates, pictures, and videos that are to come soon!

India, Here I Come!

This past week has been a week of many old things coming to an end and many new things coming to a beginning. For the past three months, I have been living an intense lifestyle of learning about God, myself, the Bible, and so much in between, and deepening my relationships with God and others surrounding me in this unique environment. It has been an amazing experience, but it is now time for me to move on from this phase of lectures and learning to the outreach phase of serving and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today the Iceland Team left to begin their outreach, followed by the India and Fiji Teams on Monday. It's an exciting and busy time, but it's also sad and difficult. It's sad to say goodbye, sad to end this special time together (although we'll reunite for a week after outreach), sad not being able to spend Christmas or New Years with each other or our family at home. It's difficult to pack one bag for two and a half months, difficult to deep clean the entire base, difficult to know I won't live in Room 46 again.

It's a bitter-sweet time in my life, but as much as it is bitter, it is oh so much more sweet. For one thing, I get to say goodbye to always being cold and say hello to warm Indian weather! I get to experience a completely different culture. I get to continue growing in my faith and I get to pour myself, my heart, and Jesus into the people of India. And I get to wear Indian clothing! It's such an exciting time in my life and sometimes I can't even believe the things that I'm doing, the places I'm going, and the people I'm meeting.

I have some prayer requests to ask of you to keep in mind whenever you think of me:

• For safe travels, both to and from India, as well as within the nation. We will be traveling from Mumbai to Goa on the west coast, and later to the Himalayas in the north of India.
• For the team--that we are united, have open communication, and unending grace and love for each other. 
• For divine appointments, open doors, and opportunities, along with discernment as to how to act on these, with the people we interact with in India.
• For the people that we will interact with, that their hearts, minds, and spirits will be prepared and in the right place to have meaningful interaction with them.
• For our health, that we can get over any colds or sicknesses we currently have and that our immune systems can be built up and strengthened against sickness in India.

To put faces to the India team, this entry's pictures are pictures of my team members and a bit of information about them. Please keep us in your prayers for the next 10 weeks as we'll be in India!

Michael Van Kesteren, Belgium (Staff)

Clotilde Helene Barberon, France (Staff)

Katrine Lund, Denmark (Staff)

Nathan Ghinn, England

David Hildreth, England

Selena Mckenzie, USA (Right)

Bethany Turner, USA

Sadie Ferl, USA

Lilian Elgert, Germany (Left)

Anna Lise Carolan, USA

Ashley Johnson, Wales

Tiffany Matsumura, USA

Ireland

In Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland in background.

Last week my DTS and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Ireland. It was a long and tiring journey. While most of the DTS was able to take an hour flight, the seven Americans without passports had to drive about four and a half hours from the south of England to Liverpool. From there, we took an eight hour overnight ferry to the Northern Irish city of Belfast, where we met up with the rest of the group. This sounds simple enough, besides the fact that our first attempted departure at 3:30am Sunday failed to get us as far as 20 minutes away. After a fixed car, lots of prayer, more car trouble, and a ferry ride with both literal and figurative ups and downs, we made it across the Irish Sea early Monday morning. Thus, our 13 hour trip turned into what seemed like a 48 hour day.

Part of the base, An Cuan.

That trip, as well as the rest of the week (due to bad weather and snow), required lots of flexibility, turning to God, and good attitudes. In a way, it was the best possible outreach prep without even planning it. Throughout that whole process, though, I knew (as well as the others) that God was with us and teaching us, no matter how confused, tired, joyful, or grumpy we were. Overall it was a rough, tiring, funny, strenuous, peaceful, relaxing, beautiful, cold, hot, joy filled, and adventurous week, and probably my favorite week since I've been here!

We stayed at a YWAM base in the town of Rostrevor in Northern Ireland. The 5 month old base faces the Republic of Ireland, separated by a lock that leads to the Irish Sea. We arrived with snow on the ground, and snow continued to fall every day while we were there. We were surrounded by pure beauty, much like I am at Holmsted. We had lecture on theology (AWESOME) Monday through Wednesday and attempted field trips on Thursday and Friday. Here's a list of memorable things I did:

Had an epic snow ball fight.
Walked to an Irish pub, drank hot chocolate, and listened to live traditional Irish music.
Attempted to make, then helped supervise the making of a snowman.
Ate homemade bread.
Walked by the lock and on the shore during low tide.
Ate snow.
Spent an hour or two walking in the Republic of Ireland.
Visited Catholic and Anglican St. Patrick's Cathedrals.
Caught massive snowflakes on my tongue.
Sang Christmas songs.
Ate soup, soup, and more soup.
Stood in awe of the glory of God and His beauty.

In Ireland with Northern Ireland in background.

St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral

Catching snowflakes on my tongue.

God's glory.

Meanwhile, back at Holmsted, it snowed and snowed and snowed. It is now melting, but here are some pictures of my snow-covered home.

View from my window.

Our Christmas tree!!

Lastly, I want to remind you that I leave for India on December 20th. That's three Mondays from now! Please keep me, my team, and the school in your prayers, especially for finances and a location in India. Stay warm (as I'm trying to!) and God bless!

Give Thanks Always

Not only is this my first Thanksgiving apart from all of my family, but it's also the first Thanksgiving I've spent in a foreign country, in a country that can hardly relate (in a positive way) to this holiday. I don't think I've ever felt so much appreciation for Thanksgiving as I do now. Right now families all across the US are waking up, turning on the Macy's Day Parade or the football game, and being tortured with the aroma of turkey, boiling potatoes, stuffing, and pie. Americans are being surrounded with loved ones who have traveled from places near and far, all for the purpose of giving thanks, for being thankful for all the blessings God has poured over them.

Meanwhile, back in England, it's a normal day of routine. Wake up, breakfast, quiet time, lecture, lunch, work duties, dinner, outreach meeting, free time, bed. And as I'm sitting in my bed trying to stay warm, I can't help but be thankful for my American citizenship, for having one day every year where routine is broken and loved ones gather just to give thanks to God, for His goodness, provision, love, and everything else in between. I've taken advantage of Thanksgiving as an American in America, but now I'm an American in England, and there's a whole new significance to this day. And I hope I won't take it for granted any more.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving. I'm thankful to be American. I'm thankful for my family and my friends. I'm thankful for my dogs. I'm thankful for the body of Christ, who support me and love me. I'm thankful for being in England. I'm thankful for my DTS leaders, staff, and peers. I'm thankful for new relationships. I'm thankful for long-lasting relationships. I'm thankful for the love, hope, joy, peace that my God gives. I'm thankful for God's glorious provision. I'm thankful that God is a God of love and relationship. I'm thankful for sunshine, the ocean, hot sand, forests, clouds, rain, and a few minutes of SNOW today! I'm thankful for a roof over my head. I'm thankful, so very thankful. And even though I'm not home with my family and we're not celebrating Thanksgiving here, it doesn't mean that I'm not celebrating it here in my heart (and also a bit outwardly)! My prayer is that if you are able to celebrate this wonderful American holiday of thanks, that you give thanks! And celebrate it to the fullest!

Although we aren't necessarily celebrating Thanksgiving today, we did have a Thanksgiving-themed Love Feast this past Sunday. We attempted to make it as American as possible. It didn't nearly compare to a true American Thanksgiving, but it was as good as we could get in England, and Thanksgiving in England in itself is something to be thankful for! We had a game of real American football (not soccer!), a delicious feast, a slide show of what everyone on base is thankful for, a "No Talent Talent Show," and a viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life." Not bad, right?! Here are some pictures of the day. Enjoy!

"Be Constant in Prayer"

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
-Proverbs 12:25

I think the appropriate theme for this week would be titled FAITH.

Fall leaves and frost on the grass.

Early in my DTS I found out that our school would have the opportunity to go to Ireland for the tenth week of our lecture phase (I just finished my seventh). There, we would be doing some service work at a new YWAM base while having our lecture on church history (an appropriate location for this topic). The staff prayed about it and felt that that was where God wanted us to be for that week. So we forked up 100 pounds and bought our tickets, and it was all fine and dandy!

This week, however, the India outreach team (that is, my team) sent our passports along with our Visa applications for India. It didn't take long for us to realize a problem for the five American students and two American school leaders who would make a pastoral visit to India for a week. The Visa process for the Americans takes 15 working days. Unfortunately, we only have room for 11 working days before we go to Ireland. If we don't get our passports back before then, there's no way we could fly to there, and only a slim chance of crossing the border without a passport via ferry.

These are just the facts of the matter. But the TRUTH is that God is bigger than any Visa process and that He is FAITHFUL. We believe that God has told us to be in Ireland for this week and we believe He will take us there. We, as a DTS, have already seen God do miracles with Americans and their Visas in the process of bringing them here. This is no different. I believe this is just another opportunity to glorify God.

When we were first told of this situation, as well as after a time of seeking God and praying, I felt no worry, no sense of despair, not the slightest flicker of doubt. The other Americans affected by this felt the same way. We all have a sense of peace and joy. When we talk about Ireland, we don't say "if we go," but "when we go."

My roommates during our slumber party.

I want you to know that we are also open to other opportunities that God has yet to reveal to us instead of Ireland, but we are also confident in what the Lord has told us. I believe that we should be constant in prayer, coming to the Lord in almost an annoying way. The India team is meeting daily for a time of prayer. And individually, we are constantly lifting up prayers to our God--the God who hears and loves to answer our prayers.

If you are willing, I would greatly appreciate you joining in with our prayers. We are leaving for Ireland on 25 November, and would thus need our passports by the week before.

I also have another request of you:
I still owe about 700 pounds for my outreach phase. And with the pound increasing in its value, it takes more and more American dollars to reach this amount as time goes on. I am fully confident that God will provide the remaining funds for me, but I am asking that you join me in prayer for the remaining funds to come in, and to come in quickly. Also, if you would like to support me again or for the first time, you could contact myself at tiffanymats@gmail.com, Tom or Bev Matsumura, or Camarillo Community Church.

I want you to know that I am so thankful to have so much support, both prayerful and financial, back at home. If you only get one thing out of this blog, I ask that it is to join with me in prayer for the American passports (including mine) and my finances. Thank you so much and may God bless you.

Here are some photos from last weekend in London:

In front of Buckingham Palace

I became a pro at using and navigating the Underground system.

Outside Hillsong London before church (they rent out a theatre).