One really good thing about this year's convention, is that it was moved to Casper! They had great facilities, utilizing College Heights Baptist Church's main building and community center. The kids had a much more secure area (children are signed in and out, and with only one in and out, it seems a much simpler process). I also loved that it was in Casper, because there were so many more dining and housing options. In Douglas, you could stay in one of two over priced hotels, and eat at one of two or three places. Here we were able to stay in our favorite hotel, eat at a variety of restaurants, and have plenty to do in our down time.
The Children's Program was absolutely fabulous, as always. I love the AIM Team. They teach the kids about Jesus and sharing the gospel. One of the songs that they choreographed a skit to was called "Live What I Believe", which I believe is an absolutely wonderful message! The volunteers are always full of life and interested in the kids. There were a few returnees from our first convention two years ago, and they remembered our kids and made them feel at home!
I was disappointed that there was no Teen Track this
year. I would like my children to be
able to interact with children of their own age with similar values, rather
than watch the teenagers peek at each other during the general session like the
boys holding up one wall and girls the other at a typical junior high school
dance. After listening to this speaker
for awhile though, I was glad that he wasn’t off influencing my teenager, and
was absolutely thrilled when the Children’s Program was short volunteers and
asked if they could keep her all Saturday afternoon!
I struggled with this year’s convention. There were still
nice people, and a chance to visit with friendly faces, but there was also some
tension. There was apparently some dissension
about changing locations, because I caught some snide comments related to
that. There were more “better than you”
attitudes than I’d seen before, and less friendly faces. The biggest disappointment to me however, was
the main speaker, Kevin Swanson.
We enjoyed the first general session on Friday, and felt that
this would be a good speaker and that we could learn and enjoy his
presentations. After the second
presentation, those thoughts were beginning to change. By Saturday, I was thrilled that our daughter
was going to be safely in a place where she would be able to learn about
evangelism and ministry, rather than being yelled at from a legalistic
soapbox. My husband was so mad by the
time that we left the last session on Saturday, that I thought he was going to
have an apoplexy. We absolutely believe
that our children need to learn God’s word first and foremost. There is absolutely no question of that. We also follow God’s law, not man’s
interpretation. I came to this
convention to learn about homeschooling and the issues surrounding it. I came to be rejuvenated and to find the support
and encouragement to go back with a fresh outlook. Instead, I got to be screamed at while being
told how to dress, eat, walk, talk, sing, and that I was going to hell if I
listened to the wrong music, watched television shows or movies that this man
didn’t think were appropriate, or read books that fell into that category.
At this point I doubt we’ll be going back next year. Maybe if we were able to let the kids go to
AIM and then skip every general session…regardless, if we do attend, you can be
sure that we will thoroughly research the presenters before stepping foot in
the door!
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