My name is DAMIBA Honoré Ramondgwendé.

I am from Burkina Faso and grew up in the parish of the cathedral, Our Lady of Grace, in Koupela, about 140 km east of Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina-Faso). I got to know the Assumptionists when I paid a visit to Br. Bernard BAMOGO and his community. That's all it took for me to change my mind from entering the diocesan seminary to joining the Assumptionists. I was totally taken up with the way they lived their life together, their charism and spirituality. I enjoy the life in community marked by simplicity, real brotherhood, genuine warmth, mutual respect and support, transparency, and an international character.

Hello! My name is AKPO Dovi Augustin.

Born on June 7, 1987 in Ahassomé (in the Prefecture of Moyen-Mono, Togo), I am the tenth and last child of my family. I would say that my vocation dates back to the age of ten or eleven when I was attending Mass and was deeply impressed by the pastor of Christ the King parish, Fr. Cephas. There was a special reverence with which he celebrated the Eucharist. It was as if he belonged to another world. I wasn't even baptized yet since my father was a non-practicing Catholic and my mother a follower of the ancestral religion. I started preparing to enter the Church and in 2003 was baptized and received First Communion. Afterward I joined many Church groups, all of which nourished my desire to become a priest. These groups got me involved in helping others ----  the handicapped, the sick, prisoners, the homebound. There grew in me a desire to serve God and his people.

I am ADANDOGOU Yaovi Martin Esdras

and I am Togolese from the capital city of  Lomé, more particularly from the parish of St. Michael the Archangel. Born into a Catholic family, I always had an appreciation for the liturgy and the sacred. Eventually I entered the diocesan seminary to pursue a vocation and it was at that time, while I was still discerning, that I was introduced to the Augustinians of the Assumption by a Religious Sister of the Assumption.

My name is Nicodème INANDJO.

I'm Togolese. As far as my vocation is concerned, I would say that it was a gradual process. I was very involved in various Church movements and prayer groups at the parish of Our Lady at the foot of the Cross in Lomé. A fire grew within me, a profound desire to serve Christ. I knew many diocesan priests and had heard of a few congregations, but one day at a discernment workshop offered by a local religious sister, I learned of the Assumptionists. Fascinated by what I heard, I set up a meeting with Fr. Jean-Paul SAGADOU, the vocation director. I began to visit the community over a four-year period and finally decided to enter. First there was pre-postulancy and then a postulancy experience. Now I am in the novitiate where I am very happy.

Hi! I am Gérard Djigbondè HOUEDANOU.

All is grace! Every religious vocation has something sacred and mysterious about it because it finds its origin in an intimate relationship of love of God. God entrusts to us, weak human beings that we are, the unbelievable treasure of his grace so that we might know who He truly is. So it was that the Lord granted me life on October 2, 1989 in Lomé (Togo). It was during my year of postulancy in Sokode that my Assumptionist vocation was confirmed --  a year of discernment, a year of fellowship with others who were discerning, a year of simplicity, a year of selflessness, a year of grace. All is grace.

My name is GNOM Pierre.

I was born on August 19, 1989, in the Prefecture of Kozah in the town of Yadè. I am the oldest of three. The idea of becoming a priest came one day when I was at Mass observing the priest celebrant and said, "I think I, too, would like to be dressed one day in white like him." So I asked to become an altar server. The first time I served Mass I had an overwhelming sense of joy. A few years later I joined the vocation group of the parish. There we had days of recollection and summer camps. While I was visiting a Benedictine monastery and speaking about my interests, one of the monks mentioned the Assumptionists to me. I contacted them and one day Br. Serge Patrick came to see me. He invited me to one of their vocational camps which I thoroughly enjoyed. Now I am grateful to be part of this brotherhood. I count on the Lord's help and that of his Mother, and yours, in responding faithfully to this call.

Hi! I am TIENDREBEOGO Justin Wend-Yam.

I'm from Burkina Faso, from the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary in Kologh-Naaba, archdiocese of Ouagadougou. My parents are both practicing Catholics and I was immersed in the faith from an early age. Already when I was 8, I had joined one of the groups in our parish. As I got older, I joined other groups. Finally while I was involved in one founded by a Camillian Sister, Germaine KABORE, I decided to commit my life to God in the religious life. Twice a year the various parish vocation groups participate in an archdiocesan-wide vocation fair where different congregations present themselves. It was there that I met two Assumptionists, Fr. Paulin KAKULE-VYAKUNU and Br. Bernard BAMOGO. I was fascinated by what they had to say, so I visited a few times, read some literature about them, consulted their website, and finally asked to spend some time in community. It has been a joy to discover this congregation, its charism, and its international character.

I go by the name Yvon AKPABIE.

I am Togolese and come from the Archdiocese of Lomé, the parish of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Kégué. Now I am a novice. What a joy! What a grace! I have always been taken up with St. Augustine and his spirituality. "Lord, you have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." So much desire within us, so much searching, and you, Lord, seek us out ceaselessly. We are found and re-found by You. Here in the Assumption I wish to make mine the great causes of God and to defend them. I wish to extend His reign within me and around me. I wish to go wherever God is threatened in Man and Man is threatened as image of God.