Eastrander July 2017 The e news letter of the AA East Rand Area

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Ethan Harrison
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July 2016 16 July 2017 Corrie 9 Airfield 7 July 2008 18 July 2017 Clive 9 Airfield 12 July 2008 18 July 2017 Thembisa 1 Tembisa 21 July 2016 23 July 2017 Juanine 8 Germiston 28 July 2009 29 July 2017

1 Eastrander July 2017 The e news letter of the AA East Rand Area UPCOMING THANKGIVINGS. Name Years Group Sobriety Date Thanksgiving Belinda 4 Primrose 28 June July 2017 Teresa 9 Airfield 2 July July 2017 Vernon 1 Airfield 11 July July 2017 Tembisa Goup 1 Tembisa 14 July July 2017 Corrie 9 Airfield 7 July July 2017 Clive 9 Airfield 12 July July 2017 Thembisa 1 Tembisa 21 July July 2017 Juanine 8 Germiston 28 July July 2017 Francis 9 Tembisa 14 August August 2017 I may seem like a long time away, but the planning starts next year. We need to get someone as Chairperson of Convention 2019 in place. They in turn will then get together an Organizing Committee. See website for initial requirements. East Rand Area is in need of someone to Head the Correctional Facilities portfolio. Please contact Larry at Area Office if you are interested. The editor will not add any Thanksgiving which does not contain a Thanksgiving date. The purpose of the Thanksgiving list, is to let other members know when a member is celebrating, so if no Thanksgiving date is provided there is no reason to add it to the THANKSGIVING LIST. Nor will any events be added unless approved by East Rand Area Assembly. East Rand Area Contacts Area Chairperson Teresa Area Vice-Chairperson John Treasurer Tony Secretary Lisa Office Coordinator Larry Delegate Anil Delegate George CPC Fatima Correctional Facilities Vacant Treatment Facilities Craig Literature Suben Public Information Fatima Archives Larry Eastrander and Website Colin GSR's Area Assembly meeting 8th July 2pm at the Area Office, Benoni Volunteers are Required at Area Office to do 12 Step work and answer calls. Contact Larry

East Rand Area Office Benoni Central Methodist Church (Corner Room), 26 Bunyan Street (entrance Cranbourne Avenue), Benoni Larry - Telephone :- 011 421 1748 (day 9am - 1pm) All Hours :- 0861

2 East Rand Area Office Benoni Central Methodist Church (Corner Room), 26 Bunyan Street (entrance Cranbourne Avenue), Benoni Larry - Telephone : (day 9am - 1pm) All Hours : HELPAA - aaer@aaer.co.za or larry@aaer.co.za Website East Rand Area Banking Details Alcoholics Anonymous East Rand Bank :- Nedbank Limited Branch :- Princess Park Account Number : Branch Code : Account Type Current/cheque account SPRINGS GROUP HAS MOVED!! OM 19h30 Thursday CM 19h30 Monday Selcourt Methodist Church, 3 7 Granada Street, Selcourt, Springs NEW MEETING MONDAY MEETING - OM 18h30 STOW STREET GROUP Holy Family Parish, Stow Street, Secunda John B NEW MEETING - NEED VISITORS!! The Focus Group Wednesday OM 19h30 NG Kerk, 1 Kerk Street, Putfontein. Mark P Shawn P WEEKEND RETREAT FOR YOUNG AND OLD AT 80 km from Johannesburg between Heidelberg & Balfour AN AA EAST RAND INTERGROUP EVENT Friday afternoon 28th of July Sunday 30th July 2017 Come join us for a fun filled weekend - Bring the family plenty of activities for non AA members TOO AA Meetings: Friday Evening: 20h00 21h00 Saturday Morning: 10h00-11h30 Sunday Morning Spiritual Meeting 10h00-11h30 Free Activities: Obstacle Course, Zip Line, Night Hike, Paintball Wars (additional cost p/person) and lots more. Accommodation for the Weekend, R 550 per person - price includes all meals from Friday evening till Sunday lunch. Saturday lunch time Braai. Deposit of 50% no later than 1 June 2017 Day Visitors - R includes Lunch & Dinner Children under 12 - R Deposit of 50% no later than 1 June 2017 Contact: Larry or Debbie aaeastrand@gmail.com Visit for more Detail The East Rand Website had 273,700 hits for 2016! The Aim for this Year 2017 is 300,000 Hits! Last Month was 22,450 and 136,765 for the year so far! Total Hits 718,228 since started KEEP VISITING - Thanks, Colin Thank you for material sent to me, Please keep it coming. We on the ER do appreciate it. Colin D. - Eastrander and Area Website Editor - colind@aaer.co.za

3 Remember the WEBSITE for more!! Thanksgivings are up to date, and any that have been received after publication of the Eastrander are added to the website. So keep an eye out! Reflection For The Month I know today that getting active means trying to live the suggested Steps of The Program to the best of my ability. It means striving for some degree of honesty, first with myself, then with others. It means activity directed inward, to enable me to see myself and my relationship with my Higher Power more clearly. As I get active, outside and inside myself, so shall I grow in The Program. Do I let others do all the work at meetings? Do I carry my share? Keep It Simple We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can get from, Life. Sir William Osler Service is a word we hear in our recovery program. Service means work we do for others. It s the backbone of our program. The reason is simple. Service to our Higher Power and to others breaks down our wanting to be self-centred. Service brings us back into the world. We really are part of the group when we pitch in to make coffee, set up chairs, or talk in meetings. We really feel like part of the family when we run errands and help with meals and housework. We really connect with our Higher Power when we pray, Use me today to help others. Service breaks down the feeling of being alone that being self -centered brings. A Member Shares: I m Lori, a real alcoholic. I strongly believe that the Steps are in order for a reason. But I also think that no matter where you are in the program, steps 10, 11 & 12 are always of use. If you haven't done a 4th Step yet, at least do a 10th every day and make no new resentments. It keeps you from having more amends in Step 9, too. And while you may not be able to go to a 12 Step call or sponsor someone, even on day 2 you have something to offer to the newcomer on day 1. Step 11 talks about *improving* our conscious contact with God, because by the time we reach Step 11, that contact should not only be there, it should be well woven into the fabric of our lives. For me, prayer and meditation have to be part of my daily routine every morning, every night, and as often as possible in between. Otherwise I get crazy, things get chaotic, and I definitely fall victim to complacency. I've learned time after time that complacency leads to relapse for me. I don't want to be in that place anymore. It was explained to me that prayer is talking to God and meditation is listening. So I don't just meditate by sitting quietly, but by trying to listen to (meditate on) what is being said in meetings and what I find in my readings. God is so amazing and so vast, I have the joy of improving that conscious contact with Him forever. I'm never going to reach a point where I have enough. That prayer and meditation keeps me close, keeps me grounded, reminds me that God is never very far away. I reckon that's what I have. Each Day a New Beginning To believe in something not yet proved and to underwrite it with our lives; it is the only way we can leave the future open. Lillian Smith Today stands before us, ready for our involvement. And it will offer us opportunities for personal growth and occasions to help another make progress on her path to the future. Challenges are to be expected. They further our purpose. They foster our maturity. How different it is, for many of us, to look forward today with secure anticipation, to trust in what the future holds! We can still remember, all too vividly perhaps, the darker periods in our lives, periods that seemed to hold no promise; a time when we dreaded the future, fearing it would only compound those awful times. The fear and the dread are not gone completely. They hover about us, on occasion. They no longer need to darken all of a day, however. We can recognize their presence as parts of our whole, not all of it. How free we are, today! Our choices are many.

4 Facing Reality. Like it or not, life seems to have certain risks that just can t be avoided. Alcoholics are not really comfortable with risk-taking. This is especially true in situations that include risk of rejection, risk of defeat, or risk of loss. If we try to get through life without accepting some risk, however, we re simply not being realistic. The refusal to accept risk may also mean that we miss wonderful opportunities in the process. What should we do? We should face risk intelligently and with spiritual preparation. FIRST, we do everything possible to reduce risk in any situation (thus making it a calculated risk ). THEN we pray for guidance and inspiration (but not a certain outcome). FINALLY, we do our very best to succeed in the situation, whether it s a courtship, a job search, competition in sports, or whatever. We might surprise ourselves by succeeding more times than we fail. But even in temporary failure, we gain if we follow through in accepting reasonable and necessary risks. A Member Shares: My name is Daniel and I am an alcoholic. Some of my share is recycled, my best material in my opinion. LOL I like the concept of the building of a house in my journey. Brick by brick I am building my safe home of sobriety. Steps of Desperation 1-3. I finally realized my foundation was crumbling all around me. Drinking wasn t normal; insanity reigned; life unmanageable. Steps of Perspiration 4-9 The real work began and continues following the blueprint of AA; suggestions, meetings, sponsor, helping others, prayer and meditation, rigorous honesty. Just follow the blueprint, the 12 steps, the cornerstone in place, my HP. Steps of Inspiration Applying and using my tools to keep my home in best repair, clean, happy, joyous and free. Remodelling and renewing every 24 hours; make my home a safe place, my reinventing myself. Doing the next right thing. Progress not perfection I can always be better man. "It s a new dawn, it s a new day, it s a new life for me feeling good!" (by Nina Simone) Thank you for letting me share and helping me stay sober one more day. Extra Thoughts Like a tree blowing in the wind, friendships can bend and waver, yet they will both remain standing if they have strong roots. Suzanne Long To the world, you re just one person but to one person you could mean the world. Anon There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. The gospel of Thomas... I saw people willing to compromise themselves, or change themselves, to acquire what they thought was important. I don t judge what other people do, many choices that may be right for others are definitely not right for me. Kathy Ireland God is singing and Creation is the melody. David Palmer Forgiveness restores us and our relationships. J. Keith Brown A.A. Thought For The Month Since I ve been in A.A., have I made a start toward becoming more loving to my family and friends? Do I visit my parents? Am I more appreciative of my spouse than I was before? Am I grateful to my family for having put up with me? Have I found real understanding with my children? Do I feel that the friends I ve found in A.A. are real friends? Do I believe that they are always ready to help me and do I want to help them if I can? Do I really care now about other people? Meditation For The Month Not what you do so much as what you are, that is the miracle- working power. You can be a force for good, with the help of God. God is here to help you and to bless you, here to company with you. You can be a worker with God. Changed by God s grace, you shed one garment of the spirit for a better one. In time, you throw that one aside for a yet finer one. And so from character to character, you are gradually transformed.

5 EAST RAND AREA MEETINGS SUNDAY TEMBISA - OM 11h00 43 Benin Street, at Ethafeni Multiskills Centre, behind the Ethafeni Clinic. Suben or Nala HERE ARE THE STEPS OM 18h00 Scout Hall,25 Terhone Road,Freeway Park,Boksburg (From Kingfisher Avenue, turn right into Constantia, after 950m, turn right into Terhone Road.) Sandil or Lisa KATLEHONG - OM 15h00 Motsmai Clinic, Corner of Moseu and Maphike (Sontonga) Streets, Katlehong. David or Mandla SUNDAY SPIRITUAL MEETING - OM - 10h30 Primrose Methodist Church, Primula Drive, Primrose MONDAY STOW STREET GROUP - OM 18h30 Holy Family Parish, Stow Street, Secunda John B BENONI CITY - OM 20h00 Central Methodist Church, cnr. Bunyan & Cranbourne Streets, Benoni Anil COURAGE TO CHANGE - OM 19h30 NG Kerk,8 Canadair Avenue, Impala Park, Boksburg Joanne EDENVALE - CM 20h00 Dunvegan Nursery School cnr Dunvegan & Francis Streets, Dunvegan, Edenvale Gus ,Mike ,Bharat SPRINGS - CM 19h30 Selcourt Methodist Church, 3 7 Granada Street, Selcourt, Springs PRIMROSE - OM - 19h30 Primrose Methodist Church, Primula Drive, Primrose TUESDAY AIRFIELD OM 19h30 Northfield Methodist Church, Aerodrome Drive, Northmead, Benoni John or Retha BRAKPAN OM 20h00 St. Peters Anglican Church, Queens Avenue, Brakpan Colin or Vincent HOUSE OF MERCY OM 19h30 35 Olivia Road, Ravenswood, Boksburg Frazier PHOENIX - OM 20h00 All Saints Church cnr Rietfontein & Petunia Roads, Primrose Charlie WORD OF MOUTH OM 20h00 Edenvale Scout Hall, 1 Davids Road, Elma Park Warren or Bharat PRIMROSE LADIES - CM 19h00 Primrose Methodist Church, Primula Drive, Primrose Belinda WEDNESDAY ACTONVILLE In Recess KEMPTON PARK OM 20h00 Beginners Meeting at 19h00 before 20h00 meeting Methodist Church cnr Monument & Van Der Walt Streets, Kempton Park Release or Adele WEDNESDAY EDENVALE LUNCHTIME OM 12h30 St Teresa's Catholic Church, Horwood St.,Edenvale Ian PLANTATION OM 20h00 Horizon Clinic, 8 Railway Road, Plantation, Boksburg Sandil BENONI CITY LUNCH TIME OM 12H00 Benoni Central Methodist Church, 26 Bunyan Street (entrance Cranbourne Avenue), Benoni Larry THE FOCUS GROUP - OM 19H30 NG Kerk, 1 Kerk Street, Putfontein,Benoni Mark P Shawn P THURSDAY SPRINGS - OM 19h30 Selcourt Methodist Church, 3 7 Granada Street, Selcourt, Springs EDENVALE - OM 20h00 Dunvegan Nursery School cnr Dunvegan & Francis Streets, Dunvegan, Edenvale Gus ,Mike ,Bharat AIRFIELD Step Meeting 19h30 Closed Northfield Methodist Church, Aerodrome Drive, Northmead, Benoni John or Retha HIGHVELD (SECUNDA) OM 18h00 Highveld Social Service Centre Mental Health, President Swart Street, Secunda George HOUSE OF MERCY OM 19h30 35 Olivia Road, Ravenswood, Boksburg Frazier BOKSBURG OM 20h00 Methodist Church Hall, cnr Osborn & Market Streets, Boksburg Central Lisa or Debbie HEIDELBERG OM 19h00 Methodist Church Hall, 59 Strydom Street, Skipper TEMBISA - OM 13:00-14:00 Tembisa Energy, Energy Maintenance offices (Opp. Police Station) 120 Ibazelo Section, Andrew Mapheto Drive, Tembisa. Nala or Release THE 12 STEPS 19h30 OM Manager Care Centre, 8 Kirschner Road, Brentwood Park, Benoni John W or Glen c FRIDAY Hambisa Umlayezo Kwanaye (Heidelberg) OM 18H00 Acts Family Church, 6027 Nyathi Street, Extension 23 Skipper PRIMROSE - OM - BIG BOOK 19h30 21h00 Primrose Methodist Church, Primula Drive, Primrose BENONI SOUTH - OM - 19h00 20h00 CTC Church Cnr Lancaster and Dagenham Streets, Benoni South Tony SATURDAY GERMISTON - OM 17H00 Reconciliation Church,75 Piercy Road (off Weber road) Lambton, Germiston Kevin THE SATURDAY MORNING MEETING OM 10h00 House of Mercy,35 Olivia Road,Ravenswood,Boksburg Marlon or Tony SATURDAY MORNING MEETING OM 09h00 Kempton Park Group at Elim Clinic, 133 Plane Rd, Kempton Park Suben OM = Open Meeting, CM = Closed Meeting

Eastrander May 2017 The e news letter of the AA East Rand Area

Eastrander May 2017 The e news letter of the AA East Rand Area UPCOMING THANKGIVINGS. Name Years Group Sobriety Date Thanksgiving Rob 1 Airfield 2 May 2016 2 May 2017 Pierre 3 Kempton Park 3 May 2017 Skipper