Yarramundi 2011
Our latest Living Skills Enhancement Retreat was held at the wonderful Yarramundi River Park Recreation and Conference Centre at Yarramundi. We had 21 attendees from all over Australia turn up on the Friday and after our meet and greet we all got our bags, found their rooms and settled in for the retreat.
After we all settled in we had our first discussion session and who was prepared for what was going to happen, no one was but what we found out was some issues that was haunting some of the attendees and some of the unanswered questions were getting answered. Some of the attendees were in different stages, some early in their journey and some not so and attending their first retreat. The retreat was facilitated by David Bonython-Wright who not only got us to talk but to laugh as well.
We did something different with the catering this year as we split everyone into three groups and they cooked dinner and breakfast. On Friday night we had American night which was decorated with the American Flag and the cooks wore red, white and blue. On Saturday night we had Italian night, the Italian flag as well as Adriano Bocelli. The catering was enough to feed an army and some attendees were not happy about putting on that extra kilo or two but said what the heck the food is too good.
On Sunday we went for a day out and took a cruise up the Nepean River on the Nepean Belle Steamboat. The weather could not have been better as all attendees got time to relax and get away. Jessica Smith our new Ambassador joined us on the cruise and shared her amazing story with us on Sunday night.
The weekend wasn’t all about the serious side of things it was about having fun, letting your hair down, Buzz made an appearance and so did SingStar.
All the attendees had a fantastic time, we made knew friends and shared our experiences with each other. Some of the us took one step closer to becoming a “BURN Survivor” and left the “BURN victim” part of their journey behind them.
On Monday we all said our goodbyes but the friendships, the laughs will last forever. The quiet ones on Friday were not quiet anymore, a big thank you to those that mentored and helped them. They too were in that position and know lead by example, this is what the PHBF does; it shows all Burn Survivors to LIVE BEYOND THE BURN.
A huge thank you to Narelle and Andy the staff at Yarramundi without them our stay would not have been as enjoyable and successful. To Ron Federico (RCF Photography) who was our photographer on Sundays cruise. To all our sponsors, Franc Essentials, Niche Marketing Group, Protector Fire Services, Lucas PawPaw, Optiderma, Sweet William Chocolates.
Regards,
Grazi Lisciotto
