Growing and Giving Back

I never aimed to be a compulsive overeater, but I was very grateful to find out what was wrong with me. I am an addict whose primary addiction is food. By working the Twelve Steps of OA, always coming back, and working with my sponsor, I have found a Power greater than myself that helps me live the best way I can on a daily basis.

I have also found my primary purpose in life. It’s not to strive for happiness, but to help other compulsive overeaters, whether they are in the rooms of OA or not. This gives me a serenity that I never experienced in my life of eating. In the beginning of my recovery, I was only too happy to put the chairs out or put them away. As other opportunities presented themselves, I began to take on positions such as greeter, group treasurer, public information secretary, intergroup rep, intergroup treasurer, and region rep. I considered not doing service as Region Ten chair and really had to pray about it. When my time as region chair came to an end, I could only feel immense gratitude to those who helped sponsor me into the position and made themselves available for support along the way.

I recommend that all members of our Fellowship look at our Responsibility Pledge. Are you giving back some of what you have been given? Giving back could include giving service, making responsible donations in your meetings and via the Contribute page on oa.org, phoning someone you haven’t seen at a meeting lately—and the list goes on.

OA’s Region Ten encompasses the Far East, Southeast Asia, Western Pacific Basin, Australia, and New Zealand. It is small in numbers and geographically widespread, but our membership is slowly growing. China, Korea, and Indonesia are working on their translations of OA literature, and we are looking forward to seeing the signs of our growth at the 2016 Region Ten Assembly and Convention, which will be held October 5–9 in Adelaide, Australia.

We have found that videoconference meetings are a wonderful way of carrying the message to people in remote areas of our region. Can you connect to a Region Ten videoconference meeting and share your experience, strength, and hope? That would be a wonderful way to give service. We have members attending from Japan, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.

—Letitia M.

Editor’s Note: OA’s 2016 Strategic Plan includes a focus on the Responsibility Pledge. Region chairs and members of the Board of Trustees are contributing one article per issue on this theme.