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A Christian Reflection on Study Abroad

When people talk about their study abroad experiences, the most common topics are places to visit, to shop, to eat, and to have fun. A less common topic is religion and where you can find a community that shares your faith in a new country. One of my 2020 resolutions before setting off to Madrid was to get closer to God. Admittedly, I didn’t do my due diligence. I didn’t look up a single church or community in Madrid where I could practice my Christian faith. Instead, once I got to Spain, most of my time was spent with friends–eating, drinking, going clubbing on some weekends or in my bedroom. None of this helped me grow my faith. Instead I was heavily distracted, engaging in activities to fit in with others in my program and almost always feeling guilty afterward. To make matters worse academic life was being repeatedly disrupted by major depressive episodes. Many nights I fell asleep exhausted from sobbing, feeling the distance between me and God growing further and further. And like a plot straight from a horror movie, the virus quickly reached and took over Spain. A sense of great fear swept over everyone. Sanitizers and masks that were readily available just a week prior were sold out and merchants couldn’t tell us when they’d be back in stock. Ultimately, my time in Spain came to an abrupt halt and I left Spain in the same spiritual place I had been in before arriving. Most of my deepened faith journey happened after I got back home. However, that doesn’t have to be you. For this reason, I have compiled a short list of churches in the Madrid area that might be useful to anyone going abroad who wants to still be involved in a community of believers. 

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