If God is for us, who can be against us?

"And what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31

During my senior year at Hope I started to keep records of sermons in a notebook. After a while, I began to also take note of songs that resonated with me particularly strongly at that point in my life. Without a doubt, the most frequent lyrics noted in my black notebook are, "And if our God is for us, then who can ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?"

As I flip through I can remember it's encouragement on October 30th at Calvary,  November 6th at Dimnent, February 5th at Dimnent. Then I was reminded of it once again, in a note from my dear sister that she left on the car seat after our last visit together before I left.

When I was applying for the Fulbright, I was left in a waiting game for almost a year and a half. I was constantly wondering: "Will I get chosen? What would it be like? Should I be applying for jobs? When should I tell prospective employers about the grant possibility? Wherever, whenver, I move, who will be my friends?" Slowly, through the help of family and friends, I realized that as I walked into an uncertain future, I had to believe Romans 8:31 in the core of my being. I had to realize that God was above all and if he wanted me to be in Spain, I would be there. I had done my part, writing a hundred revisions of the same two one-page essays. The sense of peace had to come from trusting the God who provides.

Now, being in this wonderful city of Madrid, I am challenged to live up to what God desires for my life. In a James study that I did with Miss Natalie Daché this summer, I was struck by the reality of James 4:15, "Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" It finally dawned on me that our lives are truly but "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14). My car accident this summer could have easily have been more traumatic than it was. A walk home alone from the metro stop will always have a risk associated with it. I am here, I am alive, because God has plans for me. It's my responsibility to live up to them during my time here.

"So," you may now ask, "What grand adventures are you having across the big pond?" To be honest, life here is not as exciting as you would think. I'm not on some tourist trip, touring all of the big attractions and staying up late every night with the plan of sleeping on the plane ride home. I'm slowly (but surely) making a life for myself here that is not too far off of what I would be doing at home. In fact, it may be slightly less interesting given that I haven't formed a group of close knit friends and I'm still living out of a suitcase. However, there are tiny moments of adventure which are enough to make my current homelessness situation worth it :) Here are some updates...

Okay, so this one isn't a foreign experience. But there are some things that make Saturday mornings perfect no matter what country you are in.

For those of you following my food consumption, here are a few of my current staples. Kiwi yogurt, addicting cookies, and Emergen-C (brought from the U.S.). I went running the other day and ended up with a sore throat. I guess I wasn't dressed warm enough for the 8:30 am temperatures (60 degrees... is my body already adjusted to the climate change?!?!).

 Speaking of running, there is a wonderful path through the park next door to my current apartment. I can run 40 minutes without seeing a single stop light! However, it's made my sneakers super dusty. I don't think this picture does it justice but if you look closely at the differences between the blackish part and the crevices, that is the change that happens when I wiped the dust off. I don't know that it competes with the dust on Ali's sneakers from Africa, but still...

Groupon Madrid! I get e-mails every day. I'm definitely planning on using some of these to my advantage...

 I met my nephew, for the first time! Granted he probably didn't get the whole person in the computer thing but whatevs. Josh and Tami have adopted B from Ethiopia and will return to the U.S on Thursday.

Then, of course I had to check in with my adorable niece (and adorable mother!)...

 And last night I took advantage of Euromanía at 100 Montaditos with Napala (fellow Fulbrighter) and Erica (fellow Michigander... who knew I would find someone in Madrid who has dutch danced?). 100 Montaditos a fabulous chain restaurant that has a menu of 100 little sandwiches (montaditos). They range on price depending on the ingredients, but on Wednesdays and Sundays, everything is 1 euro. It's basically amazing.

Sunday morning I checked out the Bundy's church, Hermanos en Cristo. Not knowing how long it would take me to get there, I left about an hour ahead of the service time and arrived about 10 minutes early. I walked in, knowing I would be early but hoping to slip in somewhat unnoticed, only to find that it was a classroom size room with about 40 chairs. The only people there were the two who would be doing the worship music and a few looking over powerpoint slides on the computer. Very inconspicuous, Amber. You blend right in.

The service was wonderful though; it was very similar to what I had experienced in Sevilla. When people wanted to speak up or pray, they did. In the middle of the service, they had new comers stand up and introduce themselves. (Public speaking in Spanish?!?) It was obvious it is a very tight-knit community. Afterwards, I talked to a bunch of people and went out to lunch with a young couple (from Miami) who had been living in Madrid for the past year while they do their Masters. Very exciting prospects!

AND last but not least... my first day of school! Here are a few tidbits of information about my school:

1. The staircases are marble.
2. The paintings on the wall are registered copies of masterpieces (as in registered in El Prado. Real life...).
3. The school is filled with children of government and various embassy officials. (No wonder the guy at the bank down the street was so impressed with my placement...)
4. From what I can understand of their sports leagues, the basketball team is the best in the region and leads into their equivalent of NBA teams.
5. The (beautiful) theater was painted on the dime of the future Queen of Spain since she went to the school when she was in colegio. No big deal.

The sign for the school, which is actually not on the school building. The school is behind a gym (this building) and an elementary school. Of course I walked into the wrong building first but I'm getting accustomed to this. Side note: Being behind the elementary school means I get to see countless cute small Spanish children every day without having to teach them!

So yeah, it's basically the same as Hershey High School or Black River. Jaja NOT. But to be serious, a beautiful building doesn't mean they have it all together. The education system is crazy; strikes are already being planned. Teachers have been fired and class sizes are soaring. (Sound familiar?) Check out this great article recommended to by my Uncle Jack!

Anyway, my coordinator is so overwhelmed with scheduling and balancing his three jobs in the school (Bilingual coordinator, Head of the technology department, and teacher) that I was sent home after an hour and a half chat/tour and told not to come in tomorrow. Guess that means laundry day? I can't avoid these tiny machines forever. Yes, I'm looking forward to having a schedule, but I'm getting to practice the virtue of patience on so many fronts that it is becoming much more natural.

Well, now I'm off to read some of my book and write some e-mails before going to house church tonight!
Much love,
Amber

P.S. Just one more thought from little A-Rog's card...