Day 4

GOD IS SOOO GOOD!!!  


We met missionary friends last night that meet every night in Plaza del Sol and go out in groups evangelizing!  We also got information on a good church and a prayer house!  Score!  :)  I'll describe in more detail below.


Since we are waiting to hear back from the family we interviewed with for the Au Pair job, Bree and I are just taking it one day at a time, living night to night.  So first Bree and I woke up yesterday (Friday, April 1) and packed up our stuff and moved it downstairs to the hostel lobby. We were going to decide whether to switch rooms or switch hostels. We decided to move to a new hostel because ours was double the price for the weekend nights.  So we called a hostel in the next neighborhood, and then lugged our suitcases over there.  This hostel is nicer and there is more room and less people, the only downside is there in no kitchen, so we have to eat out.  But here we have a private room (one that doesn't smell like paint) so we don't have to lock our valuables in a locker.  It even has a balcony over the street.  We're staying here tonight too, but hopefully it won't be too long before we hear back from the family.


So after we got settled in the new hostel we went exploring.  We walked to Plaza del Sol which is like a block away.  Then we walked down Calle Acala which goes past a lot of government buildings, the national bank, and a civic center.  That street lead us to Parque del Buen Retiro.  It was cool seeing the images that we had seen on google maps so many times in person.  While in Retiro I got ripped off buying a croissant for 2 euros and Bree got ripped off buying some caramel popcorn for 2 euros.  We are so cheap. Lol.


Then we figured out how to get out of the park and reoriented ourselves and walked back toward the hostel. We got lunch and went back to the hostel for a nap.  Then we set out to check out Plaza Mayor and find a chocolateria (chocolate shop).  We found a place that actually sold cheap food.... They had a 1 euro menu!  We got some pita sandwiches and fried cod, which were actually not too fishy.  :)  Then the pastry store we wanted to hit up for desert was closed and Bree was REALLY sad.  


Then things started getting exciting...


We saw a young guy sitting on the ground with a legless homeless man and he had a Bible on his lap.  Bree and I were VERY intrigued, but we kept walking.  She kept asking me if I wanted to go back, but I was unsure.  After a few minutes of praying in the next store we went into I asked her if we could go back and talk to the boy.  We sat across the street and waited for them to finish their conversation, but after about 10 minutes of waiting we just introduced ourselves and joined the conversation.  The young guy (probably about our age) is named William and he's from Kansas and has been living in Madrid with a family for 3 years.  Then another guy came up and starting talking to William, who stood up and the two of them talked in English with Bree while I stayed sitting and continued talking to the homeless man in Spanish.  We talked for at least an hour.  His name is Gigi and his life was fascinating.  He loves God so much and he knows a closeness to God that blew my mind.  He is from Bulgaria and he talked about how human love means absolutely nothing in comparison to God's love and how one day when he was depressed after his wife's death, he cried out to God and he saw a golden figure of a man (Jesus!) in the distance.  Then than man came to him and has been with him ever since.  He talked about conversing with God every daily, and laying his head down on Jesus's lap and God caressing his head as he talked to Him.  It was beautiful.  I love how close God draws to the poor in spirit.  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"  Matthew 5:3.  I learned so much from talking with Gigi.


After we left Bree and I got some chocolate con churros (a life-changing experience!) and she filled me in on what the two American guys are all about.  They are part of a group of Christians that meets in the Plaza del Sol (where we were last night) and goes out evangelizing in groups.  They also gave us the address of their church and a prayer house!  I just checked out the website, which is AMAZING.  http://www.ontheredbox.com/english/index.htm


Oh my goodness, I am so excited!!  It proves that we are exactly where we are supposed to be, even when we think we are just waiting to hear back from the Au Pair family, when we think we are just switching hostels to save money, and when we think we are just walking around exploring and looking for churros!  God is amazing and I love how he leads us.  As always, He is FAITHFUL!