When I heard the 2022 EMER Regional Convention was going to be held in Armenia, I immediately asked at work to have two weeks off in October. I knew from the past how refreshing and strengthening conventions and after-convention fellowship are, and didn’t want to miss the fun. It really exceeded my highest expectations!
Armenia turned out to be a very safe and friendly country. I felt more at ease walking around in its capital Yerevan than in my own capital Brussels. People were calm, friendly, and eager to help. I visited the highlights of the city with other “pre-convention birds”, and was amazed at its millenia-old history. We had a meeting at the patio of a 5-star hotel where some members were staying; relished a concert in the Opera House; went to a children’s art museum; drank freshly pressed pomegranate juice; and enjoyed the inexpensive and excellent buffet restaurants.
On Wednesday many of us shared cabs to go to the mountain resort Tsaghkadzor, where the convention hotel was situated, as the next day the Regional Assembly was going to be held with IGRs from EMER’s fifteen Intergroups. The assembly was held hybrid, because some IGRs were not able to attend in person. As other early birds were arriving, we were holding SA meetings and having fun by having walks in the surrounding area and visiting the nearby high-altitude lake Sevan.
Probably due to the post-Covid lethargy and the political instability, the convention attracted less Western Europeans than expected. It still had 110 participants from many parts of the world: Germany, UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, USA, Poland, Italy, Spain, Singapore, UAE, Austria, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, and 48 members from Iran,most of whom had traveled 12 hours by car followed by 22 hours by bus to get to Tsaghkadzor! It was such a joy to see them as I had the good fortune in 2016 to visit the local fellowship in three Iranian cities. The energy, enthusiasm, and joy of the Iranian fellows were contagious: they would be the first ones in the morning to go out for jogging or fitness exercises, dance at every opportunity through the day, and hug us all to pieces. I felt deeply touched to see Iranians and Americans hugging, and to see fellows from warring countries sitting at the same dining table. We really are a spiritual fellowship where politics or religious convictions are not only not discussed, but even transcended.
The theme of the convention was “We Were Home,” inspired by the booklet “Beginnings” about the formative years of SA, and by the fact that our founder Roy K. was of Armenian descent. The panel speakers shared their experience, strength, and hope on different topics from the booklet. All meetings were translated in Farsi, Russian, and English. On Saturday at 7pm a hybrid meeting was held with Dan K., the son of Roy, who shared his memories about his childhood, his father, and his story of recovering from sexaholism. It was such an amazing experience, listening to a story which shed light from a different angle on some parts of the “Personal Story” of the White Book. It was an historical and humbling experience which gave me goosebumps. An hour later, Joyce A., Roy’s 92-year-old sister, also shared her perspective on her youth and brother. Both shares turned Roy even more into a human being like us, a person with virtues and defects, and I became even more grateful for his setting up SA. I also saw more than ever the hand of a loving God at work through the life of this broken and imperfect man, who had surrendered himself to working the 12 Steps.
We had an amazing talent show with piano playing, jokes, Spanish karaoke, a Belgian evening song to God, an amazing English/Farsi poetry recital, and lots of Iranian dancing.
After the convention several of us set out by car to explore the country. So did we, with five of us in a rental car. I experienced good will, camaraderie, love, and tenderness. We visited early 4th-century monasteries; descended into the pit in which Gregory the Illuminator had been imprisoned for twelve years; enjoyed beef kebab and grilled vegetables in a restaurant while looking out on a Greek temple which had been built in 77 AD; swam in the swimming pool of a wonderful local guesthouse; picked grapes from local vines and almonds from almond trees.
I was sad to leave the country as I had truly experienced the theme of the convention–I had felt I was home.
Luc D., Ghent, Belgium
