Reaching 8 years! Out-reach.

16:55

I thought I would write something about the outreach/ missionary work being done in Romania. I spent a week out in Romania last week, visiting a friend who is working in Metro Ministries in a beautiful town of Sighisoara.

I spent a wonderful week in Vienna first, with my son, who is doing a doctorate out there, and then I took a long night train (13 hours) across Hungary to Sighisoara.

Me and Josh wandering Vienna…

one view of pretty Sighisoara

It was all such a privilege and adventure and I knew I was so blessed.

I felt like I had been away for two months, rather than two weeks, as the experiences were so rich!

The outreach in Sighisoara, within a very poor community, was very special indeed. The staff and team do such an amazing job with the families.

I was mainly taking part just in accompanying the beautiful little children to and from the Kindergarten in the Rhema centre. One day I had the pleasure of joining them in the Kindergarten too.

I loved the people and the country very much!

But today I realise that it is a week after my birthday. It is the 9^th of March, and that means that it is another milestone reached for me. On the 9^th March 2015, I had my last alcoholic drink.

I did not know if I would ever reach a whole month of sobriety and a year felt out of my reach completely.

It really was one-day-at-a-time!

It is for every addict.

But I reached the month goal. I reached 6 months and was rewarded with a little ‘chip’ medal.

Nine months was turbulent, but I reached a whole year, then 2 and now I have reached 8 years of sobriety.

It is due to the gift and the grace of God. It is thanks to the Power of Jesus. It is also thanks to the fellowship of AA, whose stories, acceptance, honesty, love and humility have taught me so many truths and taught me to see denial when it sought to confuse me.

I praise and thank God, AA, and my friends and family for loving me in my weakness and loving me into healing.

I thank them all for helping me to reach what I could never have attained by myself.

Stop.

An additional point to notice here is that the work of AA is also an extremely effective outreach work for the Kingdom of God!

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes. The prompt this week is REACH.

Actually, I do read through my script afterwards to correct my mistakes, underlined in red; to check scripture references and to find an appropriate image to illustrate the topic.

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