Over the weekend of April 25-27, the third Australian SA Conference was held in Yackandandah, Victoria. With 24 members attending from various parts of Australia, this was the largest conference so far, and we are growing slowly in numbers and sobriety. The theme of the conference was “We Are Responsible.” S-Anon was represented for the first time with Australia’s lone S-Anon member. Three members gave First Step presentations. Some of the meetings were taped. At the business meeting, the Australian Intergroup was formally begun. We now have a national phone service with the number listed in all capital city phone books. A Loners Committee was also formed and a scholarship fund created to assist members to attend conferences and retreats.

Following are some comments from members who attended the conference in Yackandandah:

• At the conference and following it, God revealed a bunch of stuff to me. I could see that although I was attending SA for more than two-and-a-half years, I was still a dry drunk. I was not working the program and was taking in lust through different inlets. I also saw the degree of abuse in my relationship with my wife. My ego was like an inflated hot air balloon and I could see the fear, anxiety and selfishness. It was a triple whammy. After I got back I shared with a few people about the extent of my bankruptcy.

• I shared in our SA meeting that I was coming to the meetings as an obligation and that my heart was not really in it. What a difference it brought to the whole atmosphere! When I took that first step to be honest, others also began to get honest. I have been listening to the SA tapes. I have been making amends to my wife about some of the stuff that I had done to her. In one of the tapes the speaker said that intimacy is when I can let my guts hang out. When I started to do that with my wife, she became more loving and I am beginning to understand what true intimacy is all about.

• I had been trying to understand the 12 Steps with my head and now I can see the futility of trying to understand a spiritual program that way. I am beginning to see so many of my character defects. Until the conference, I did not see that I had so much fear inside me. I have started sharing about my fear and that has helped a lot. I am starting from scratch in my recovery and that feels good.

• The conference gave me a new perspective on sobriety. I now realize that it’s not enough for me to stay sober for the sake of not going back “out there.” The conference showed me that recovery brings precious gifts and gave me a positive rather than a negative impetus to work the program. I am starting to count my “lust free days,” the sort of days that I need to realize the gifts.