By the grace of God, the fourteenth anniversary of SA in Iran was celebrated in Yazd on 27 April 2017. Five hundred men and women gathered together in a beautiful venue and opened the event with the Serenity Prayer. Our chairman welcomed everyone and explained the plan for the day. Mohsen K. from Ahwaz then gave a talk on the history of SA in Iran. This was followed by traditional music played by an accomplished band of sober sexaholics.

Two speakers from the USA, William and Shirley, then shared their experience, strength and hope via the internet. William talked about sexual addiction and recovery from lust. Shirley shared about the SA tools of recovery. The band played again and was followed by a video about recovery. Then an old-timer from Shiraz, Jafar, presented chips to newcomers, who then blew out the fourteen candles on the anniversary cake. It was a very happy occasion, with a great spiritual atmosphere, thanks particularly to all those who gave service. We finished with the Third Step prayer.

Dear SA fellowship,

I’d been looking forward to my Skype call to the 14th annual convention of the Iranian SA fellowship. My Iranian sponsee had called earlier to make sure all the technical details were in order. I could hear Iranian music in the background and the sound of many conversations at once. When the call began, I said, “Hi, my name is William and I’m a sexaholic.” Everyone replied, “Hi, William!” It felt so good, I laughed and so did they! Then we recited the Third Step together. It was amazing to listen to hundreds of members reciting this prayer in Farsi!

I’d been asked to share how the 12 Steps had changed my life. So I started with “Step Zero: We participated in the fellowship of the program.” This is the “unwritten step underlying all twelve. … No one seems able to stay sober and progress in recovery without it…” (SA p. 63) I hadn’t gone very far with my share about Step Zero before we started having technical difficulties. The speaker system in the auditorium wasn’t cooperating. My translator couldn’t hear what I was saying. I didn’t get to the other 12 Steps, but there is no question in my mind that we had all just experienced Step Zero and practiced the Serenity Prayer! Thank God for our brothers and sisters in Iran!

In fellowship,

To my brothers and sisters in recovery,

I have been awake since early morning, and it was way past bedtime for an old woman like me. On the other side of the world, a group of people had just heard William speak about his experience of Step Zero. I propped up my cell phone and began speaking to the people I saw on the tiny screen. As I talked briefly about my own experiences with each Step, I sensed a spiritual awakening which is the result of these Steps. Together, the people at the 14th annual convention in Iran, and I, experienced “the real connection.”

Somehow, through sleep deprived words, and painstaking translation, our Higher Power entered. Each of us received more than we had to give. I encourage all, who read this, to reach out to the next suffering sexaholic… near or far. You too can have a front row seat to miracles.

With much gratitude,