I had been in Sfîntu Gheorghe 20 years ago. The reason we’ve visited the city now was totally different. I got filled up with energy. The place of the event and the welcome was warm. I already knew most of the participants, there were approximately 120 people. I met people who wanted to change, who have been living a sober life for a long time, who are self-conscious. Some of them were accompanied by another family member, as a sign that it is possible to live together a different life. It strengthened me in my temperance that I’ve seen trustworthy people. What they have said during the group discussions, they actually live in everyday life. Here, as usual at all similar Conferences, people UNDERSTOOD each other, and they had a compassion for me – this is what I felt. I don’t need my double life anymore. I had a seemingly healthy, a spectacular life for my surroundings, and I also had another confused, secret and dark existence. I had been drinking until exhaustion, until I fainted. I was coping in that situation for a long time. For 15 years.

At the Conference I received stimulation to consider that there was hope, release, it was possible to live a substance-free life. And despite the everyday hardship this is better than the former life. It was important for me to realize that we depend on each other, it is important to support each other spiritually, to give feedback or to hold a mirror to each other. Therefore, if it is possible, after my departure from Ozd, I would like to take part in other similar gatherings.

As a resident of the Therapy Centre I was appointed to help in the kitchen at the Conference in Sfîntu Gheorghe. It was a joy for me to serve.

How can I show my love to God? I received an answer to this question on Sunday morning, in the church of the Irisz-house, from a couple who gave their testimony. They said that their greatest happiness was to praise God together. The members of the choir also showed their love and gratitude. They sang from their heart. I left the Aftercare Conference with the feeling and the decision that IT IS WORTH IT to live differently. What feelings did I have in me? Love, encouragement, relief, joy, happiness, understanding, hope, exuberance, the feeling of stability.

Thanks for all of you!
Sándor, Sfîntu Gheorghe

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Aftercare Conference