Day 3

Today we learned that nothing goes as expected and what God has in store is not always what we planned on. This morning we woke up, had breakfast, and went to a church in Alcobendas, near our hotel, and had a Bishop from the Philippines come and talk to us. He discussed the questions God asked Adam and Eve: Who told you you were naked? Why are you here? Where do you come from? This was truly a message carried on today. They discussed how things aren't how they plan, you question why are you here, and where you come from. Comprehending God's plan is impossible. Then the Canadians put on a skit! We then listened to two testimonies and felt very moved. After, we had Mass with about 20 other Priests surrounding the Bishop. Right near the church there was this restaurant we went into for lunch. Unfortunately it took two hours to get our food, so we played "Go Fish" on the bar tables. Mrs. Holly was so wonderful and planned out our map of activities. We followed her map, taking us into downtown Madrid to see all the amazing Cathedrals. We walked for miles through the town filled with small shops, and lots of graffiti! Let's just say it made me nervous. After miles of this, we found the Cathedral, but it was locked. We were a little disappointed knowing our longggg walk was for nothing. Then we were on the mission to find another Cathedral that was on the map, and yet again, we couldn't get in. We decided to go see if any of the museums were open, however the one we wanted to see was under construction. Along the way we met people from Lebanon who told us that all the countries around them are being persecuted for being Catholic and it was really hard to be Catholic there. It was really interesting hearing this because so often do we take our faith for granted. It reminded us of how blessed we truly are! It was also a surprise to us that even though we think so many people hate USA because of the war, these teens are looking past our nations and toward our unity as Catholics. It's truly an amazing thing to see. After all of these disappointments from walking we stopped on a corner to try to figure out our next plan, when I saw a beautiful cathedral, and the doors were OPEN! We walked inside to find a beautiful golden alter! It was actually the home of where Saint Vincenta Maria Lopez's relics lay. We got to see her tomb over by the Tabernacle which was incredible. When I was sitting in this Cathedral, a group of pilgrims came over and played guitar and the bongo drums in front of the Tabernacle. They had song books and were just singing and praising the Body of Christ. Many other Pilgrims in the Cathedral surrounded them and joined in the praise. It was the most wonderful experience I've ever had and i've learned today that simple acts of kindness go extremely far. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life, and how happy I felt for the rest of today, and how i'm still feeling that way! After that Cathedral I learned that although we didn't understand quite exactly why we had to walk so many miles, it truly paid off in the end to see those pilgrims singing and playing music. It made me realize that I want to try to touch other pilgrims lives along the way somehow! We left the Cathedral and went to a sandwich shop. It was packed and so rushed and I couldn't read any of the sandwich choices because they were in spanish. So I picked a random one called Pate because i'd heard of it before and I thought it might be turkey. I get back to the table and asked what Pate meant. Known of the pilgirms from our group knew but they said that it tasted gross. So I asked my dad who was in a separate section of the restaurant what we had all got and he said it was GOOSE LIVER! We all freaked out! So needless to say we didn't eat that! Then we headed back to the subway where we tried to think of a song we could do because all the other countries had one. So instead we did the wiggalo on the subway. It was a lot of fun! We got back to the hotel and had a reflection of the day and all the wonderful things that happend on our journey. Life is like a Spanish sandwhich, you never know what you're gonna get! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! Goodnight :)

The video is of the pilgrims singing in the Cathedral!