I’m Brian, a grateful recovering sexaholic and chair of SA’s International Committee. Our committee focuses on the still-suffering sexaholics outside of North America, Australia, the UK, and Germany. In those areas, SA is mostly organized and can supply SA materials in both English and Spanish. But outside of those areas, SA recovery is severely limited because of language barriers; we can only supply English-language materials and sponsors. In many parts of the world there are no established SA programs—no organized local group or Intergroup. Members in these countries need direction. Many of them turn to the international phone meetings for support. I’ve attended many of these international phone meetings, and have observed the desire for lust recovery among loners around the world.

For the past five years, I’ve been privileged to work with many volunteers, including Delegates and Trustees, who generously serve on our committee. We help as best we can to get groups going and get basic materials translated into the language of the country. Usually members of local groups translate existing literature into their own language; however, these translations must be approved by the Translations Committee (a sub-committee of the SA Literature Committee) before permission is granted to publish these as authorized translations. The Fellowship, therefore, is constantly looking for members fluent in languages other than English to assist with this invaluable service.

One might wonder what draws a person to the International Committee. In my case, some time into my service work, I began receiving calls from Africa. Early on this was rather difficult as rates were high and connections were bad, but help was so desperately sought that the callers persevered. Today, things have changed dramatically. With the international phone meetings these isolated members in Africa now have a place to come and recover.

For many years I’ve been privileged to host a number of African students and ministers in my home. I’ve heard sad stories of past friends in Africa who died because they did not know where to find help for this disease. Over the years many copies of Sexaholics Anonymous have departed my home seeking a greater purpose on a vast continent riddled with the effects of untreated lust addiction. There is much need in Africa and yet there are still no face-to-face meetings. But we continually gain new contacts, and this gives hope to the newcomers. We must surrender and trust God’s timing for the program’s growth in Africa.

While Africa has been very slow to grow, other locations have embraced SA and many have found the benefits. I’m greatly inspired by the progress that has occurred in countries like Iran. In the past two years, Recovery Continues, Step into Action, and Sexaholics Anonymous have all been translated into Farsi—thus opening the program to many non-English-speaking people. Along with the growth of literature in that area, there has also been an explosion in the number of face-to-face meetings: currently 10 meetings a week take place in the cities of Ahvaz, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Qulqum! If you ever find yourself traveling in these cities, brush up on your Farsi and know that you will find the SA support you seek. Members of the International Committee help support these fledgling meetings through regular contacts and finding sponsorship.

There are other bright spots in our journey toward recovery. We’ve had inquiries in recent months from people in Belgium and Holland. Some of these new members have been able to attend marathons in the United Kingdom, and some traveled to the International Convention in Nashville. From these experiences, new meetings are now emerging in both of these countries.

At the October 2008 meeting of the International Committee, we were thrilled to hear direct reports from members in Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine who expressed a deep gratitude to the UK Intergroup, which sponsored the recent translation and publication of Sexaholics Anonymous into Russian. The UK Intergroup has also been asked to translate Step Into Action in order to expand the available literature. One might think that the program is just starting in this area because books are just being translated but actually, Moscow SA celebrated its 10-year anniversary meeting in February 2009. Ukraine has three meetings in Odessa and one in Lviv (in Western Ukraine). These meetings are held in Russian or Ukrainian, so if you are visiting one of these meetings you will need to brush up on your language skills or buy a pocket translator. However, Sexaholics Anonymous has already been translated into Polish. With a Polish translation in hand, feel free to join the 10 members who attend meetings in Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznan. They welcome everyone who inquires about the program in Poland.

Although we’ve had many successes, there is still much work to be done. It’s a big world out there. If you are interested in doing service in this exciting area of SA, we would love to hear from you. We would weep for joy if you are fluent in 20 different languages but will be quite happy if you only know English. We have many opportunities to translate, but just as many opportunities to sponsor a fledgling group or individual. If you are feeling really ambitious and a single fledgling doesn’t feel like quite enough, you could ask to be assigned a region or country that is near and dear to your heart. Newcomers at home and abroad have a strong desire for support in the form of literature, sponsorship, translations, and recovery tools.

Those of us serving on the International Committee desire to connect with all international members attending the “Serenity in the Rockies” convention coming up in July. Also, any SA members interested in serving on the International Committee are invited to attend our International Committee meeting on Saturday afternoon July 11, 2009.

We look forward to hearing from and seeing many of you in Colorado.

Yours in Service,