Once again Leonora Bush Mission has proved to be a blessing to both the children of Leonora and to the team who spent the first week of the holidays presenting the holiday club. It was wonderful to be sharing the love of Christ with children and to know that we are welcomed by the town to do so. 16 of the team of 21 have Rehoboth connections, and included 11 students, 4 staff, and 1 former student. Here are some highlights from the Rehoboth students who attended:
“My favourite highlight of Leonora Bush Mission was playing with the kids during game time and hearing them laugh and sing. Seeing the ghost town in Gwalia was also pretty cool.” – Sage
“The thing that I enjoyed most of all was playing with the children and just getting to know them. I also enjoyed playing Raiders with the children. It was a fun week and I’ll never forget it.” – Viola
“This whole trip was amazing and every part of it will never leave me. The best part was playing with the kids, singing with them, helping them and supporting them everyday. I’ll miss each and every one of them and definitely the songs, games and plays we did.” – Gwyneth
“It has been a pleasure to be able to be invited back to the team this year. I really enjoyed being with the year 10s. During the trip I thought I was only leading the music but I was asked to prepare for the program which I enjoyed. Being a leader was also one of my highlights.” – Rowell
“I loved being with the children and making them laugh, I also enjoyed the attention and love that they gave. The trip was an amazing time for us all and it brought us more together, especially the road trips. 100/10.” – Nelson
“I highly enjoyed being with the children. I also loved getting to know the group I travelled with and constantly laughing at Jean’s horrible puns! I was blessed to work with Mrs Howard, Viola, Jean and Luritha in the youngest group, it was challenging at times and they tired us all out but we worked together well. I’m planning on returning to Leonora next year with the mission as I loved the trip and absolutely loved the Kids. All together the Leonora trip truly opened my eyes to different opportunities.” – Olivia
“I loved spending time with the children, entertaining and taking care of them. I also loved the group and how easily we all got along together; our memories will never be forgotten. I enjoyed the travel on the way to Leonora, the game Raiders that we played on the second last day that we stayed and the awesome children that we got to bond with. This trip was amazing and it has given the team time to get to know each other.” – Jean
“The week has been very busy but also very fun. The kids were fun to be around and we all had attachments to them. All the games were very fun even though I was mostly on a losing team but it was good. My group was fun with the older kids who after the first day were very talkative and good to be with. All in all it was an amazing trip and I’d love to come back.” – Michael
“It was a really great experience to go to Leonora and have a road trip with some friends. Leonora is a bit tough to get used too, specifically the bugs in the showers and toilets (I was sitting on the toilet and looked down to see I spider in the toilet bowl). It was also just fun staying in the Sports Centre and getting to know the people I was with a bit more. My main highlight, however, was being able to pray at the end of the session everyday and seeing the progression of the kids throughout the week.” – Joshua
“Leonora was a really awesome experience because you could see how the children in this place live and how they are all connected. My most enjoyable moments were when I went on the bus and did pick up and drop off from the Rec Center. It was really interesting to see where all the kids live. Also going to the local St. John ambulance shelter and seeing the ambulance!!!! But my highlight of the week would have to be that this little kid Lummell came in at the beginning of the week and was a real handful, but by the end of the week he had actually really improved and started to listen a lot more. The cherry on the cake was when I was on the last drop off for the week and Lummell was sitting with me and he told me he was flying and so we played ‘the flying game.'” – Luritha
“The Leonora Bush Mission was a fantastic experience for me to meet amazing kids and learn extraordinary things. The highlight of my trip would probably have to be seeing the Smith family again after we had already said goodbye and I thought I was never going to see them again:(I know it’s going to be so very sad when we actually say goodbye to them for good and I’m not looking forward to it – but for now we can still play together). Haha, I feel so much like a kid hanging around them for so long. Another highlight that I have to mention (but it’s still not as good as that other highlight) is when Nelson smashed an icecream cake into my face and it splattered our backdrop and the floor and my pants and my shirt and Luritha’s hair and, obviously, my face. It went all up my nose and it was awesome. This happened in front of all the Leonora kids and I have now been named ‘The Cake Man’ (I like it).” – Mitchell
