I opened my heart to my Higher Power’s will and discovered I was a part of the worldwide Fellowship. I walked into my first OA meeting alone and afraid. I had been defeated by food, weight, and life. I was desperate. In the meeting, I found OA members who wanted to help me. They reached … Continued
Lisa A. from California USA saw that abstinent OA members not only committed to their plan of eating but also committed to working the OA program. Keeping her abstinence has required adjustments over the years, but nevertheless, “I am free from compulsive eating . . . and free to experience the promises . . . of the Big Book,” she says.
Arriving at an empty meeting gave one OA member the opportunity to shake the fear that her local OA meeting was going to shut down. Instead, she picked up her pen and wrote checks to her intergroup, the World Service Office and her region, and she reflected on the overwhelming sense of unity she felt at the last OA World Service Convention.
“What was so fun about World Service Convention?” OA member Beth recalls an epic road trip and the amazing recovery vibe she felt at the three past Conventions she attended.
“I’ve been blessed to attend some of our World Service Conventions,” says Bonnie. ”I know I‘ll be reunited with my ‘worldwide friends’ and meet new ones. Most heartwarming is when . . . ‘I put my hand in yours’ again.”
“Why do I keep coming back to World Service Convention? When was the last time you were in a room with more than a thousand compulsive eaters working or working toward a program of recovery?” —Karen, OA member with a more than 200-pound (91-kg) weight loss.
Every night, Meg went out shopping for snacks. She’d come home, stuff herself, and then suffer from bad sleep caused by her compulsive eating. “I’d feel my ongoing failure as a human being,” she recalls. But after finding abstinence in OA, she now says “I feel light-hearted and excited about life. I’m blessed with so much more.”
“I’m planning on attending the next World Service Convention this August 21–23 in Orlando, Florida USA, and I hope you plan to attend too,” says one anonymous OA member. “This is an opportunity you won’t want to miss!”
I need the balance of recovery and fellowship to keep me well. I get both when attending a World Service Convention. I always get excited just thinking about World Service Convention. These are events not to miss! I have attended almost every World Service Convention since 1995, and I’ve attended lots of workshops at them, … Continued
“The best part of Convention was sitting and talking to OA members from all over the world,” says Bob, who has attended five World Service Conventions. “I laughed the most at a workshop in Cleveland on LGBTQ+ issues. The leader was hilarious, and the sharing was hard hitting.”