We woke up at 4 am this morning sitting in a fog of stinky exhaust and realized that we had made a poor choice of sleeping spot despite close proximity to the picnic tables and 24 hr washrooms. We were surrounded on three sides by transport trucks parked three trucks deep - all running their engines all night long. #airpollution
We woke the boys, loaded everyone into the truck, and relocated to the “car” side of the Welcome Centre - far from the bathrooms and closer to the noisy highway but at least with breathable air. The early morning unfortunately resulted in some very grumpy pants kiddos.
Even after a bit more rest, we were still too early for today’s big event so we headed to a local recreation area for a few casts.
Our agenda for today was to teach the boys about how people see the world through different worldviews. On the menu: creationism. We spent the day at the Ark Encounter - a “life size” replica of Noah’s ark that saved the world’s animals from the global flood. Ian and I loved it. First, the compound is exceptional. No expense was spared in its construction and it was spotlessly clean. Second, it was fascinating to see what we think of as objective scientific “facts” (fossils, rock formations) used to support an alternative world view to evolutionary theory. Finally, the links between Noah’s experience and Jesus’ sacrifice were made exceptionally clear by directly addressing many, many dissenters’ questions and concerns.
The boys, at least the older two, are very firmly attached to the big bang followed by evolution as the dominant creation narrative and had significant trouble understanding how others could possibly see things differently. We had an interesting discussion about the nature of “truth” and how your truth might not be mine, and how we might even use the same “facts” as evidence to prove our respective cases.
On a less philosophical note, we loved the Ark Encounter’s petting zoo and got to feed and pet a camel named CJ. Amazing!
