After I had done everything I needed to do, I sat down to await my ride; while it was a little difficult not to fall asleep, it was nice to have a few minutes to relax! =)
Then Mrs Aiken did arrive to pick me up, and we went directly to MCBC (Manukau City Baptist Church), where we helped set up for another day of the conference. The timetable sheets that were supposed to be placed in various places around the church had disappeared entirely, so a few of us (Mrs Aiken, Mrs Stephanie Brown, Joel and me are the ones who come to mind) wrote out new sheets (Maybe I should work on my printing more often lol!), and then blu-tacked them, along with other signs and arrows, on doors, walls...et cetera...
When the first talk for the day began -“Recent News in Creation Science"- we were still busy with signs and whatever! Some of the signs needed cutting down (they were on like A3 paper, and there was a lot printed on it that we didn't actually want) so Mrs Aiken and I did that while listening!
Next was morning tea and resource viewing (there were HEAPS of vendors there!!). There was also heaps of food (yum!) which I helped hand out.
Then at 11am was keynote address #4: "Ask the Beasts."
To quote from http://www.learnex.co.nz/Editable/conference/FirelightJayWile2011Auckland.shtml:
"In this seminar, Dr. Wile will talk about Job 12:7-10, which begins by commanding the reader to “Ask the beasts.” In his view, this Scripture is telling us that we must study nature to fully understand God. While God’s divine revelation (the Bible) is clearly more detailed and precise than His natural revelation (creation), both are necessary to have a full and complete understanding of God. He will give a bit of history to show you that this was the motivation for many of the great scientists of the past, and some great scientists of the present. He then draws from fields such as astronomy, microbiology, zoology, and botany to share at least a bit of what science tells us about God."
12:30 was lunch and resource viewing. Or should I say, catch up with your friends and eat something?!? lol! I stuck around at the church although it would seem I could have had Subway instead..hmm which would have been the better choice...oh well I guess my bank account would have liked the one I made *grin*!
After lunch were the breakout sessions:
a) "Where are they now?" with Dr Wile, discussing the difference that homeschool graduates are making in the real world.
b) "Getting off to a Good Start" with Dorinda Duthie, which included applying for an exemption.
c) "Goodbye Chaos, Hello Peace" with Cynthia Hancox.
d) "Hands on Learning" with Rachel Larkin.
e) "Tackling the "isms": Worldview Overview" with Joe Fleener. Also from the above link:
"This workshop covers a basic overview of the main "isms" with some comparisons and specific examples. Attendees will leave with a basic understanding of worldview, able to recognise particular worldviews and being made aware of some resources available for further investigation."
I chose session e, and managed to talk a couple of friends into joining me. Only one of us had remembered a pen, and all three of us had stuff we wanted to write down, so that was kind of interesting! =)
I found the talk interesting, although I'm afraid it was so long ago that I'm not gonna be able to write about it!
Afternoon tea followed, at 3 o'clock.
Last of all was a talk by Dr Wile entitled "The Earth: Fearfully & Wonderfully Made."
Did you know that ozone is a poisonous gas, but is imperitive if life on earth is to survive? This discussion was very interesting (as were the others!), however it had been a long day, and I could have gone to sleep! I noticed several other people looked quite tired too...! =)
It was then about 5pm, and we helped tidy up a bit before the Aikens dropped me home, during the short drive to my place, we each shared what we had found interesting, and other memorable moments from throughout the day.
I don't remember whether I noted this previously or not, but in case I havn't, I should just mention that there were talks by other people running during every main session. However the main breakout sessions was the only time I listened to anyone other than Dr. Wile.
Thanks to everyone who helped to make such an awesome day possible!
