Phoenix Wrap-Up

This weekend was very interesting. I experienced a new place, and new people, great food, good conversation, and differing opinions. Though Phoenix was full of great buildings with stories to tell, the city itself felt very deserted. I expected that it would be a little more bustling, especially since it's the home of ASU. But whenever we'd go out on the streets, it would be fairly empty. In Salt Lake, there are people and cars moving from place to place. Buses and TRAX are transporting people, and everyone is going somewhere. In Phoenix, I didn't even see many cars unless I was on one of the streets farther from my hotel.

NCHC was a great experience, I learned new things, and had great conversations with my peers. Our session on newsletters went really well, and I feel that it was helpful for colleges looking to improve their newsletter program or to start a newsletter. I felt really good knowing that things I had to say could help these programs communicate more effectively to their audiences of students, faculty, alumni, donors, and college/university leadership.

Phoenix was not what I was expecting. It was much more quiet, and afforded much more personal time than I had anticipated. Sessions I attended were well done, but that is not the case for many of the sessions attended by my peers - some were awkward and poorly done, while others were very thought-provoking and had us talking for hours afterward.

Moral of the story: Phoenix is bad, NCHC is good. :)

Phoenix - Day 3 - in Photos

There are a lot of these in the city

Water features are everywhere...in the desert

The beautiful Fransiscan church I mentioned yesterday

Mosaic mural on the walls of the Convention Center.
You can see the skirt I wore today in one of the mirrored tiles. :-)

These "Phoenix Point of Pride" signs are all over

statues outside the Herberger Theatre Building

Our hotel (and conference location) from 2 blocks away

See the mist coming from the overhang?

Listening intently to the questions and comments at our newsletter session

We spent the evening inside the Arizona Science Center (like OMSI or Clark)

Elizabeth sorting blood platelets inside the heart

0 of 173 people are like me! :-)

Phoenix - Day 2

See, I told you I'd blog every day. :)

Well, technically right now I'm supposed to be wandering around the "Arts District" of Phoenix to read the city. It's 93 degrees, dry, and not a cloud to be seen. So - I'm sitting in my hotel room with my roommates blogging about the day so far.

City as text turned out to not be what we expected, and we didn't understand how to look at our environment in the way they wanted us to. The so-called "Arts District" wasn't really "artsy" - in fact, there are far more artsy things around the hotel than in that part of town. just across the street from us there is a beautiful Fransiscan church, a theater, Arizona Symphony/Opera building, and some public art.

One thing that has really struck me about Phoenix is the architecture. All the buildings have something different to say, and they say it in a completely individual way. Even the buildings that look alike because they're part of the business sector have different materials and styles crafted into the building. There are so many places here with a look of old history - like they have seen much and could tell great stories. I wonder if that's what is supposed to be happening this afternoon with the City as Text experience - to find the stories and the history of this place. Honestly, I feel that I've gotten more out of the experience just by observing and snapping pictures than I did with explicit instructions about how to go about reading the city.

First impressions of Phoenix: Full of history, Mixture of old and new architecture, HOT.

Tonight we went to the opening Plenary. The topic was the current debate about the Arizona Immigration Law (SB 1070?). The panel of speakers came from many different realms - Business/Law, Law/Journalism, Hispanic/Chicano Education, Education/Activism, and Medicine. I didn't know much about the Arizona immigration law, so the discussion fostered a lot of new questions and knowledge for me. I was impressed by the level of understanding each of the panel members possessed, and most of them were great speakers (one in particular had a hard time reading from his notes, but spoke great when allowed to think on his feet). The interactions between each of the panel members was also amusing to watch. One woman made her dislike for another panel member quite obvious in her body language each time he spoke. At the end of the night, it was agreed upon by all of the panel members that there must be some kind of immigration reform in this country - though not all agreed on the purpose or method of that reform.

Following the plenary was dinner and then the student party. The contingent from Westminster went to the party, and  then decided that we would be better served hanging out on our own, and headed back to our rooms (there was dancing in a circle, and I detest dancing in a circle...gross). I went to check out the fitness center and work out, while my roommates crashed on our beds.

The first full day in Phoenix, general day 2, was full of interesting experiences and new ideas. I'm looking forward to what the rest of the conference will bring.

Phoenix - Day 1

I'm going to try to blog about NCHC each day. There isn't a whole lot to talk about today other than the plane ride and hotel.

We arrived in Phoenix tonight at 9:30pm, where even late at night it managed to be 89 degrees outside. The forecast for the whole weekend is low 90s through Sunday. Eew. I'm not cut out for hot weather...
Our taxi ride to the hotel was ridiculously expensive. We were at $8 before even leaving the airport grounds!

By Sunday morning maybe I'll have a good enough feel of the city to get a bus/lite rail to the airport. Seriously.
Since Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings, I'm back on the same time as you Oregonians! Tomorrow morning will come quickly so that's all for tonight.

Check back tomorrow for observations about the "City as Text" workshop!

Pull Me Through

I write to you tonight completely humbled and in awe.

Please check out This verse, which was posted today by one of the blogs I follow. It perfectly describes what I have experienced in the last two days.

On Wednesday, I received a phone call from my team leader of our trip to Swaziland. She was checking in to see how I was doing with fundraising. If you'd noticed, the status bar to the left had been under 50% for a while, and looked pretty likely to stay there for a while. She left me with a goal to reach the next fundraising deadline at the end of October, which meant I needed $905 in a month.

I'll admit, I was a little bit concerned about how I'd reach that goal. I'd sent out letters to friends and family, though most people who were able had given, I still was behind. It was discouraging to see that I was behind by two deadlines and didn't know where the funds would come from...but I also knew that the funds would come...somehow.

THEN...

I met with a friend to catch up and chat about how things were going since she'd graduated and I started my final year, and she explained that she partly wanted to meet up so she could support me. Hallelujah!

Then, yesterday, I came home from class feeling a little rough around the edges. Decided I'd check the mail just to see if anything fun had arrived. An envelope from my friend who attends college in another state had arrived. I was excited to open it, since we maintain a fairly regular correspondence...and it was more support for Africa! I was surprised since she'd told me that she did not have any funds (which I totally understand, being a college student myself). The note attached said "For Swaziland - God is Good! - I Love You!"

And Today - God continued to blow my mind with his provision. I seem to be the resident mail-checker in our house, so when I got the mail today, I saw a letter for two of my roommates and one for me. Looking at the address, I realized it was someone who'd already given me support, and I thought maybe they were sending an update or something to me. When I opened the envelope, a check was enclosed with a note that said "To warm up your Swaziland themometer" - the amount was staggering. At first, I felt as if I would cry, then all I could do was laugh. None of my roommates were home, so I walked around the house laughing and speechless.

God came through and provided exactly the amount that I needed to be caught up to the deadlines from August and September.

Still...I am speechless and in complete awe at this amazing, amazing God who provides in perfect timing.