I went to my second F2F Al Anon meeting this week. Since I live in a very remote area of the country, and Al Anon is not very active within a 200 mile radius of where I live, meeting attendance here is very weak. This week, it was me and 1 other newbie couple (husband and wife) in attendance. A chairperson never showed up, so since I had the most experience with the meetings, (about 6 Al Anon meetings to date and LOTS of AA meetings with my AH), I chaired our meeting to the best of my ability, and it was once again AWESOME. Both their AD and my Step-AD were the topic of discussion, and loveing detachment in the hopes of achieving serenity and peace in our everyday lives.
Though, I have a question regarding finding a sponsor. How does One find a sponsor when living in such a remote area where Al Anon is practically non-existent? I would really like to begin working the steps and I think doing so with a sponsor would be the beneficial way to do this. Am I wrong in my thought process on this subject? Any suggestions on how I might tackle this issue?
Seeing as I attend several AA meetings a week with my RAH, and the AA Community in this area is extremely active and vibrant, Ive tried to network and ask where I might find other Al Anon people in the community. The AA people have been wonderful to me but have remarked how there just isnt an Al Anon following in this area and that I might need to look at the bigger metropolitan areas that are about 3 hours away from me. Is this true? Is this what One does when there is no local support system? Please understand, I am willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to work my own program. I just need some direction on where to look to get the local help/sponsorship that I think I need.
My husband and I are fulltime RVers due to his job. We move quite frequently all over this beautiful country of ours. We will be moving again in 3 months time to his next assignment, which we are very excited about the location. And I know Al Anon is very active in this new area. I really didnt want to wait another several months though to begin working my steps.
Thank You SO MUCH for your help and suggestions on this subject.
Have a SUPER BLESSED Day!!
KT2015 said
Jan 31, 2018
Hi there,
I'm sorry to hear there aren't a lot of people to work with as a sponsor in the area you are in. In my group we have had temporary sponsors for people when someone is still looking for a permanent sponsor. Maybe that is an option in your area or at groups in the bigger city near by. My sponsor and I do a lot of our step work over the phone and that works for us. I wish you all the best with finding a sponsor and support.
DavidG said
Jan 31, 2018
Hi KT,
I was in Alanon ten years before I got my sponsor... a small town group in a country district.
In many big city groups there is not enough time in meetings, for everyone to share in detail. Some groups discourage discussion of the A. in group- and encourage sponsorship [in my view] for this purpose.
It takes time to build up a small town group. Trust can develop quite quickly... I look back to my early days in Alanon with joy... these were times of discovery for me...
...another option might be to take a sponsor from this group, by distance... there are a lot of fine people here to choose from... ...
thanks for your topic...
DavidG.
Freetime said
Jan 31, 2018
Hi Peaceful,
Good job of chairing the local Al-Anon meeting. I've also been in those tiny meetings at times, and they really give us a chance to make a deep connection.
About working the steps until you find an in-person sponsor ... there is a Step Work board on this site. You have to login separately to it at stepwork.activeboard.com/ A new step is posted every couple of weeks, and you can write out your answers and get feedback from one of our wonderful MIP members.
hotrod said
Jan 31, 2018
Hello Peaceful having a Sponsor was important to my recovery, however if your groups are small and non existent then Alanon WSO offers a "Lone Member" service whereby you can write to this service and establish a relationship on issues. http://saalanon.org/members/lone-members
As David pointed out we have on line meetings here and many members who post, so possibly you can keep coming back and attempt to choose a sponsor from the meetings here. Good Luck
PeacefulLove said
Jan 31, 2018
Thank you all for your input! I did find my way over to the 12 step board and submitted responses for the 1st step work. I will reach out for a Sponsor as you have indicated and will continue working my way through this journey.
THANK YOU again, SO MUCH for all your help and encouragement.
Hello all!
I went to my second F2F Al Anon meeting this week. Since I live in a very remote area of the country, and Al Anon is not very active within a 200 mile radius of where I live, meeting attendance here is very weak. This week, it was me and 1 other newbie couple (husband and wife) in attendance. A chairperson never showed up, so since I had the most experience with the meetings, (about 6 Al Anon meetings to date and LOTS of AA meetings with my AH), I chaired our meeting to the best of my ability, and it was once again AWESOME. Both their AD and my Step-AD were the topic of discussion, and loveing detachment in the hopes of achieving serenity and peace in our everyday lives.
Though, I have a question regarding finding a sponsor. How does One find a sponsor when living in such a remote area where Al Anon is practically non-existent? I would really like to begin working the steps and I think doing so with a sponsor would be the beneficial way to do this. Am I wrong in my thought process on this subject? Any suggestions on how I might tackle this issue?
Seeing as I attend several AA meetings a week with my RAH, and the AA Community in this area is extremely active and vibrant, Ive tried to network and ask where I might find other Al Anon people in the community. The AA people have been wonderful to me but have remarked how there just isnt an Al Anon following in this area and that I might need to look at the bigger metropolitan areas that are about 3 hours away from me. Is this true? Is this what One does when there is no local support system? Please understand, I am willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to work my own program. I just need some direction on where to look to get the local help/sponsorship that I think I need.
My husband and I are fulltime RVers due to his job. We move quite frequently all over this beautiful country of ours. We will be moving again in 3 months time to his next assignment, which we are very excited about the location. And I know Al Anon is very active in this new area. I really didnt want to wait another several months though to begin working my steps.
Thank You SO MUCH for your help and suggestions on this subject.
Have a SUPER BLESSED Day!!
I'm sorry to hear there aren't a lot of people to work with as a sponsor in the area you are in. In my group we have had temporary sponsors for people when someone is still looking for a permanent sponsor. Maybe that is an option in your area or at groups in the bigger city near by. My sponsor and I do a lot of our step work over the phone and that works for us. I wish you all the best with finding a sponsor and support.
Hi KT,
I was in Alanon ten years before I got my sponsor... a small town group in a country district.
In many big city groups there is not enough time in meetings, for everyone to share in detail. Some groups discourage discussion of the A. in group- and encourage sponsorship [in my view] for this purpose.
It takes time to build up a small town group. Trust can develop quite quickly... I look back to my early days in Alanon with joy... these were times of discovery for me...
...another option might be to take a sponsor from this group, by distance... there are a lot of fine people here to choose from...
...
thanks for your topic...
DavidG.
Good job of chairing the local Al-Anon meeting. I've also been in those tiny meetings at times, and they really give us a chance to make a deep connection.
About working the steps until you find an in-person sponsor ... there is a Step Work board on this site. You have to login separately to it at stepwork.activeboard.com/ A new step is posted every couple of weeks, and you can write out your answers and get feedback from one of our wonderful MIP members.
Hello Peaceful having a Sponsor was important to my recovery, however if your groups are small and non existent then Alanon WSO offers a "Lone Member" service whereby you can write to this service and establish a relationship on issues. http://saalanon.org/members/lone-members
As David pointed out we have on line meetings here and many members who post, so possibly you can keep coming back and attempt to choose a sponsor from the meetings here.
Good Luck
Thank you all for your input! I did find my way over to the 12 step board and submitted responses for the 1st step work. I will reach out for a Sponsor as you have indicated and will continue working my way through this journey.
THANK YOU again, SO MUCH for all your help and encouragement.