Learning Days Prague

Dear participants of the 3rd European Service Learning Days: On behalf of the EDM it is my pleasure to make a few closing remarks and express gratitude to all those who made this event a reality.The planning of this event was paved with a lot of service efforts, from EDM FD Committee, and most notably from Czecho-Slovak members. We want to thank everyone who helped to make this event possible and for all the time and efforts you put into it. You all did an amazing job.
And especially we want to thank our workshop facilitators and NAWS for being available and supporting this event.
This weekend has been so organic and flowing. We wanted to do an event for members who actually doing the service. At EDM it’s the delegates, and we get all the information for the people who are supposed to do the service and the workshops.But we are supposed to transmit this information as well to the people who do the service first hand. That’s why EDM started with the European Learning Days 4 years ago in Berlin.

We want to express our sincere thanks to all of you who have come from over 32 Regions to be with us this weekend (Adriatic Region, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech-Slovak, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, German-Speaking Region, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, USA). And once back in your own environments, feel free to use everything you learned at this event to make NA a better place for all addicts in NA, in your fellowship. To see almost 200 registered members who stayed during this weekend to participate in 12 workshops most definitely met our expectation on Fellowship Development, in a broader way. We are not perfect, and we do our best to improve this service event. We ask all of you to feel free to contact the FD Committee and give feedback or make suggestions for improvements. 

Udo FD Chair
John Vice-Chair
fdc@edmna.org

A personal note:We had so many younger participants at this event. And it is my pleasure to support the next generation of service members to help them to do the service. I do service since the beginning of my recovery, starting with coffee service, and finally landed at EDM.
I started using with 15 and ended up in a closed detox ward at the age of 18. I was probably to cool to ask for help at that time, but inside I was crying for help.To imagine, after 10 weeks detox, to attend a NA meeting at this time, and with young addicts, like some of you who attend the Learning Days, and get support and find a way into recovery, would have helped me, at least to get to know, that recovery is possible.I was lucky to survive 20 years of active addiction, before I was introduced to NA, where I could find a new way of life. This year I have celebrated 22 years in recovery. Miracle happens. NA is a life saving organization and I’m so proud and blessed to be a part of that.My family and my non NA friends all knew about this weekend in Prague, and they appreciate our service efforts pretty much. They are proud about what WE are doing in NA. It just came to my mind that we are not just saving the addict who still suffers. We can be available for our family and friends, who have problems and issues as well. We are actually extending that “saving part“ to the people around us.And this is an amazing thing.

In Loving Service
Udo Berlin 
FD Chair of EDM

After the third ESL, I am clear about a few things: I attend a convention. But I participate in an ESL. There are times at an ECCNA where I feel apart from, wandering without a clue in a lonely state of mind among thousands of addicts. However, at an ESL,You are a part of. Priod. You are either there,hands on, or not there at all, maybe out in the city sightseeing! It is amazing to be among people who, just like me, have a single purpose and a single desire – to be of service to Narcotics Anonymous. This produces so much energy that I can only name as A Power Greater than us and feel as LOVE.
There was so much joy in working hard together on tables, trying to understand each other’s English, listening intensely to learn, groping for words to express ourselves, trying to come to conclusions from all that flow of valuable information/experience/opinions that was flooding our minds from all directions. And the spirit of fellowship, of unity, of recovery in its purist form (to me) wrapped me in the room I shared with women from Turkey, with women from all over Europe and the world. Just outside in the park, I could turn my head and ask anyone at random a service question, and I would get an answer right away! Based on E,S&H.That was awesome. Being among so many recovering women in service gave me so much strength and hope.
I thank you all, all the participants, the event coordinators, the facilitators, the speakers; my NA friends. I thank the EDM FD and the local Fellowship from my heart for bringing us altogether so miracles can happen.

Betül B., Istanbul, Turkey

Dear Members of NA, I would like to share with you briefly the experience of three days that I lived for the first time in the Learning Day’s event held in the Czech Republic with about 100 NA members from all corners of the world gathered together for one purpose: Learning. As the name suggests, Learning day’s aims to gather information, be sponsored and receive “in-service training” to follow our spiritual principles and continue our good practices to achieve our mission, which is that no one else dies without knowing NA. Our greatest strength is to be united on a premise, reflected in this weekend regardless of the various cultures within the room, the goal was achieved, NA is universal. These words seem short for three days of work, but the truth is that this “training” is meant for we don’t to loose what we have. And therefore, reinforce and convey the message of NA, strengthening our individual recovery that underlies our vision that “We only keep what we have if we share it.” For the first time I attended ESL, which exceeded all my expectations. I leave in the air a reflection: what reasons all these present members to move away from their comfort zone and with a pocket full of possible excuses not to participate in the event and yet have become present and enthusiastic in the mission that unites us. I leave my point of view here: Pure Gratitude. Thanks, and my appreciation for what I have learned and experienced with all present members reinforces the fact that I am a proud member of NA. For the welcoming and the support and that i received during my stay, I present my thanks to everyone who collaborated in the Learning Day´s, especially the Czech fellowship who were relentless during the event. See you in the next Learning day´s.

A greatfull addict, Gilberto from Portugal