How would they find alcoholics to help in a small, remote Arctic town? One guy had a terrific solution
Moving north to a remote community is something I never thought we would do. We heard depressing stories about the cold, dark winters and leaving everything and everyone behind, but God had an assignment for me and my girlfriend, and we accepted.
I was extremely blessed when I met my girlfriend, Kim. She’s been sober five years longer than me. We’ve had so much fun in sobriety. She’s my best friend and I’m so thankful we’re on the same journey.
Kim has an adventurous side to her. She accepted a job up in the Arctic on a relief basis and really enjoyed helping out the community. She had the opportunity to have her work contract extended and we had to make a decision. Should she stay there? If so, could I come up and find work?
Well, the short answer to both questions was yes. I found employment and was about to embark on a new journey up north to Iqaluit, Nunavut. I’m not the kind of person who likes to change, and moving to a place that was so cold and dark was not something I ever envisioned.
Kim had met a wonderful woman up in Iqaluit who was sober. They would meet in each other’s apartments and do Step work, so we had a contact there. Friday night came around and we all decided to go to the AA meeting in town. There was a sign on the door, so we knew we were home. As we walked in, there was one elder sitting at the head of the table. As we got talking, I asked him if anyone comes to the meeting. He said just him, but he opens the door every week just in case someone walks in. There used to be more members, but they stopped coming. The four of us had a little AA meeting that night.
The following week, another man came to the meeting. After the conclusion of the Serenity Prayer, he asked us if he could get a ride home. As he directed us to his place, we realized we were heading right toward our place. The gentleman lived right beside us, separated by only a wall!
We soon realized we needed more people at our meeting. We wanted to find a way to carry the message to newcomers. Then one day an intuitive thought came out of my mouth in the meeting: “Let’s start a meeting in the local jail,” I said. “Surely there will be an alcoholic in there.”
Our elder friend made a couple of phone calls and soon we had a chance to meet a team of counselors, guards and the assistant warden. We explained to them that we thought bringing an AA meeting to the jail could be beneficial to everyone. We were told that we could do a monthly meeting.
So we organized our first AA meeting there. I was so nervous. I had never done anything like that before. We had an awesome turnout. Ten incarcerated guys walked through the door and sat down. We asked how many had been to an AA meeting before. A couple of hands were raised. We asked how many were in there as a result of drinking. Every hand except for one was raised. The meeting went on and it was so inspiring. Not a lot was shared by the incarcerated guys, but we told them our stories and what happened to us. At the end of the meeting, everyone came over and shook our hands and wanted us to come back.
I knew that a meeting once a month wasn’t going to help them a whole lot. We pleaded with the counselor and got permission to hold an AA meeting every Wednesday night. The following week we returned for another meeting. This time even more people came. There was lots of interest. We mentioned that we were hoping that eventually the inside members could hold their own meetings inside.
“Does this mean you’re not coming back?” a man asked. The look on his face and the tone of his voice made me feel like they had been waiting for us. His question made me feel like I could never leave these guys in there without trying to show them that there’s a better way to live. They had definitely helped me. Doing Twelfth Step work with these guys changed my life. Being able to bring the program to these fellows filled me with such purpose.
Last week our meeting featured a speaker who spoke to us virtually through a computer. What an experience! As soon as the speaker finished, a man said to him, “I drank like that. You remind me of me.” Another said he felt the same way and admitted he would manipulate people for money just to drink. One man who had never spoken at any of our previous meetings thanked the speaker. It was incredible. I felt God was in the room that night. It was a meeting I’ll never forget.
Back at the local home group things were a bit tougher. AA meetings in remote areas are hard to keep going. Sometimes no one shows up, sometimes it’s just me and my pal and sometimes we get a handful of people. There are times when I just want to give up. But then I realize that it’s helping to keep me sober. Someone was there to open the door for me at my first meeting.
We never know when someone will come to our door. Our little group is now starting to grow. We have seven members now. We had a business meeting, elected a secretary and contacted Intergroup—we’re doing this! This has all been such an amazing experience. I had worked the first 11 Steps, but it was when I started working with others like this that I was, as we say, “rocketed into a fourth dimension.” I’m so glad God gave us this assignment. It’s been incredible.
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Loners-Internationalists Meeting (LIM) is a confidential bimonthly bulletin sent to Loners, Homers and Internationalists and Loner Sponsors. If you are far away from AA members and would like to correspond with another AA, contact: lim@aa.org