Last week, I traveled to Phoenix, AZ for Chi Alpha's Campus Ministers Conference. Staff and those affiliated with Chi Alpha from all over the US converged on the Arizona Grand Resort for a week of worship, fellowship, and learning.
Gil, Lindsay, and I flew out of Richmond's airport Monday morning. We were supposed to leave at 7am, but were delayed until about 7:20-7:30. We flew to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX for connecting flights to Phoenix. We began the process for landing when the pilot got word that the airport didn't want us to land yet, so we circled the city for a while waiting to get the ok to land. Because of our late departure from Richmond and our delay in landing, I had to hustle to make my connecting flight to Phoenix. Thankfully, I made it just in time and flew on to Phoenix. Gil and Lindsay were on the flight behind me, so I got some Starbucks coffee and ate a peanut butter sandwich for lunch while waiting for them. A shuttle picked us up from the airport and took us to the resort. We checked in with Chi Alpha and the resort, got our room assignments, and the bellhops took us to our rooms. I met up with my roommate for the week and gave her a copy of the key. Our area director invited everyone from the Northeast area to her suite for snacks and to catch up with others we hadn't seen in a while. The Banton's, myself, and a few others went to the Mexican restaurant, Aunt Chilida's, for dinner; the food was pretty good and pretty spicy. Then CMC officially kicked off with a worship and prayer session.
Tuesday morning began with an outdoor group breakfast. The staff set up tables and chairs and served us a plate of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and jelly. After breakfast, we had our first of four sessions with Dr. Rick Richardson. For dinner, I went back to Aunt Chilida's with those in the Southeast area. I also went to a get-together of former and current interns at Florida State University. It was nice to hang out with those who interned at FSU in the past and hear about their experiences.
Wednesday, we heard from a missionary to Muslim's and from two former Muslims. Both shared their testimonies of how they came to Christ; both testimonies were awesome examples of how God is moving. We took a break for lunch; each area had lunch together and discussed different area events that will be happening within the next year. Since I will be in the Southeast area when I go to FSU, I ate lunch with them. I got to listen in as those affiliated with Chi Alpha in the Southeast discussed and planned the SALT conference that will take place over New Years. After the sessions were done for the day, my roommate and I decided to go hang out at the water park for a while. We met up with some other Chi Alpha people and hung out with them. The International Student Friendship Ministry (ISFM) also had a pool party that night and gave away a lot of prizes, including a Wii system.
Thursday, I ate breakfast with the director of the FSU internship, Mario, as well as Rhia and Anthony, who are on staff, and a fellow intern, Paige. Mario explained the internship to Paige and me, as well as some of the expectations staff has of us as interns. We also had the opportunity to ask questions about the internship. After breakfast, we had a session on diversity within Chi Alpha and a panel with different campus pastors. Lunch was a question and answer session with the AG superintendent, George Wood. Those with questions were allowed to ask about different events going on within the Assemblies of God. We had a quick break, then a session on homosexuality on the college campuses. After that session, there was another session on the recent court decision affecting Christian groups on college campuses, but I decided to skip it. I was interested in what the lawyers had to say, but was also tired of sitting in sessions. A friend and I made plans to meet at the pool and hung out for a while. Our last event of CMC was a banquet. After eating, we reviewed Chi Alpha's goals from the last 5 years and the goals for the next 5 years. Also, two women who have served in Chi Alpha for over 30 years were honored, Sally Herman and Joy Schroder.
Friday morning, I met Gil and Lindsay in the lobby to catch the shuttle to the airport. Our flight was delayed because the flight that landed at the gate before ours was also delayed. When we landed in Dallas-Ft Worth, we had to run to catch our flight to Richmond. Luckily, our plane landed only 3 gates away and we made it in enough time. There were a few others on the plane from Phoenix that were also on our plane to Richmond. After we landed in Richmond, the Bantons' friend picked us up at the airport and we made a quick stop at their house before driving back to Farmville. We made it back around 1:30am, which was 10:30pm West Coast time.
I'm really glad I was able to attend CMC. I met a lot of new people and saw friends I hadn't seen since RUI (Reach the University Institute- a Chi Alpha training conference) last summer. I also learned a lot that I'm anxious to use in the years to come.
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