November 11 - 13, 2011
After a great kick-off on Friday, we started Saturday with more wonderful speakers, and the same energy that carried us through the first day of the conference.
Our first speaker on Saturday was Warwick Pascoe from New Zealand. A geologist by education, Mr. Pascoe spent years traveling the world marveling at rocks (as he put it), but then came to the conclusion that we are the greatest masterpieces of creation. Yes, we are even more amazing that Mr. David here, because under our incredible outer appearances is an incredibly designed network of bodily systems which keeps us alive! We are more beautiful and intricately designed than any rock or sunset.
His speech covered the beauty and magnificence of human development from conception until birth. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made, and "it doesn't matter where you come from," he said "we have our humanity in common."All you have to do is look at one cell of the human body, and you can't help but marvel at our lives. God is the ultimate artist, and we are His handiwork. Mr. Pascoe ended his speech with this quote: "The buildings are just buildings, the roads are just roads, but our people are irreplaceable."
Next we heard from a panel on Advocating life on your campus. Kristina Garza of Survivors encouraged us to "create our ripples", referencing Mother Teresa's quote: "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water and create ripples." Joe Langfeld of Human Life Alliance said that activism will help solidify your beliefs. Rebecca Roughneen from Youth Defence , and Allison Aranda from Life Legal Defence Foundation also spoke, and encouraged us to be where the people are at.
Jill Stanek talked about using new and social media as HUGE frontiers for the pro-life revolution. You should really check out her blog! She covers recent happenings in the pro-life arena, so make sure to check out her blog for yourself!
Walter Hoye from Issues4Life Foundation talked next about Abortion in Black America. The culture of death targets minorities, as shown by horrifying statistics Mr. Hoye shared with us. For example, about 3% of America's population (african american women of childbearing age) is responsible for at least 30% of abortions in our country. Why? Because the abortion industry targets them. "Time is out," Mr. Hoye said "We need you now. We cannot afford to wait another 38 years."
Our next panel on Effective Tools for Successful Events was really informative. This is a post in and of itself, so look for that in the future :-)
Saturday ended with Bernadette Smyth as our last speaker. There is only one word that describes this "warrior for the babies" (and the whole conference), and that is: AWESOME. Bernadette was 'just' a regular young mom when she heard a pro-life speech about 13 or 14 years ago. Since then, she has taken on the pro-life movement in Northern Ireland, and started the organization Precious Life. Bernadette's story is inspirational. "When the Lord calls you, He equips you" she said. "We must rise up to protect these babies because they don't have anyone else." "We have to rise up because when we're silent, babies die."
"One day, history will look back and say: not only did they win the battles, they won the war." "Get your armor on, and run into battle" she said.
God tells us in Ephesians 6:11 -
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Are ready to stand up, equipped with the armor of God, and protect those who have no one else to speak for them?
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