I was born on July 18, 1988 in "the land of integrity," that is to say, Burkina Faso. I can trace my vocation back to the various organizations I joined at my home parish of Barsalogo: altar servers, vocation awareness group, Christian scouts know as CV-AV… After finishing grammar school, I entered St. Cyprian's minor seminary in the diocese of Kaya in 2001 and later, in 2006, transferred to St. Augustine Seminary in Koupéla. Afterward, as I was doing my humanities at St. Irenaeus Seminary, I discovered the Assumption, which attracted me by the simplicity of life of the religious, their ministry, especially their collaboration with lay people. So it was that I began my postulancy in October 2010  and was accepted to this year's novitiate. I have tried to make my own the prayer of the Dominican priest, Louis-Joseph Lebret, "O God, send us madmen who do more than just speak; who are authentic and are so for a lifetime. We need madmen of today, taken up with a simple life, lovers of peace, untouched by deceit, committed never to betray; mild and strong. O God, send us madmen." I want to be one of these!

Here is how I might describe the genesis of my vocation: One night, after saying my prayers, I turned out the lights so I could fall asleep. I happened to be alone at home that night and I began to think a little of what might happen to me during the night because the neighborhood I live in is one of the most dangerous in the capital. Suddenly a light shone in the darkness: it was an angel. The angel said to me, "Michael, son of Augustine Efoégan and A m é g a y i b o r Anto, God is calling you to work as an Assumptionist in his vineyard when you grow up! I was only seven years old at the time". Actually, there's nothing true about what I just recounted. There is nothing mysterious or prophetic about my vocation. I made this up for all those who, when speaking about a religious or priestly vocation, kept asking, "Did God speak to you?" or "Was it revealed to you in a dream?" Let me introduce myself. I am Michel Atsou EFOEGAN, 24 years old, Togolese, a twin, from a mixed marriage between a Catholic father and a Presbyterian mother. I have three brothers and two sisters. Here's my story: up to age 7 I would always attend Sunday school with our Presbyterian friends and attend the children's Mass with the Catholics. But then something changed in my life. One of my father's friends, a diocesan priest, caught my attention and for the first time, after this encounter, I dreamed of becoming a priest, not yet knowing what religious life was all about. After these years of childhood, I stopped speaking for a few years about this desire to serve God and his people. My vocation was "frozen," if I can put it that way. When I was 17, something happened that rekindled this call: I came in contact for the first time with the Benedictine monks of Danyi Dzogbégan with whom I have stayed in touch right up to my joining the Assumption. It was by way of the monastic life that I discovered what religious life was all about. I was a very shy young man and I was told that the monastic life would suit me. But I was attracted mostly by the fraternal life and the Office recited in choir. That same year I joined the vocation reflection group in my parish to think about my own vocation and to receive spiritual direction. The one in charge of the group, Sister Veronica, answered all our questions; she was like a "mother" to us. She had us all visit various congregations to get to know their charism better. "That way," she said, "you'll be able to make a more informed decision, when the time comes." I had also heard of the Assumptionists from a young man I knew, Luc, who had been part of this same group and had become a religious. After getting my diploma and doing a program in information technology, I wanted to enter a congregation but couldn't make up my mind. I didn't want to be a diocesan priest, a monk, or a Combonian...but I felt deeply the call to religious life. So, with Sr. Veronica's advice, I decided to try the Assumptionists, just to see.....And I was taken completely by their simplicity and the warmth of the fraternal and community life characteristic of the Assumption. The Assumptionists offered me a beautiful life of prayer and apostolic work. In the Assumptionist charism, there was something else that touched my personal story: ecumenism. What I am referring to is the marriage of my parents (Catholic father and Presbyterian mother). So, on October 15, 2010 I became a candidate for the Assumptionists, a postulant this past August, and now I am at the novitiate, a time to nourish my love of Christ and to walk in his way, inspired by the example of Fr. d'Alzon. And every day, from the depths of my heart, I try to make my own the prayer of St. Augustine: "I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am inflamed with love of your peace" (Confessions X, 27).
United in prayer!

Greetings! My name is Fabrice. I am an Assumptionist novice. I am Togolese and have known the Assumptionists since June 2010. I was working on a master's degree in philosophy at the same time that I was getting a degree in education. I had just begun writing my thesis when I felt called 'again" by the Lord. I say called "again" because I had completed a high school seminary before leaving and going on to do humanities in college. I had chosen philosophy as my major with the intention of returning to the seminary. Other things "happened" and after graduating from college I decided to go on for the master's instead of returning to the Eudist Fathers with whom I had spent some time. As I completed this master's work, I began to see, especially with the help of a friend, that I had more to offer to the Lord. There's always an element of mystery in these matters! I discovered the Assumptionist through the Internet and corresponded at length with Fr. Jean-Paul SAGADOU. He found himself inundated by my questions to the point that one day he finally said, "if you'd like to the Assumption better, come and live with us for a week or two to see for yourself." So I came here to Sokodé around the middle of July 2010 and spent a week. The life was so simple and fraternal; I was interested. Three months later I came as a postulant. And here I am a novice. I pray that I can respond to the Lord's call all the while counting on the help of the brothers with whom I live.

My name is Emile Boccovi and I come from the southern Lakes Region of Togo in the Archdiocese of Lomé where I did all of my primary and secondary education and a few years of college. This reflection is for me an opportunity to thank the Lord for being so patient with me and so faithful during my long vocational journey, which has been marked by wandering off and negligence, but also with a firm desire move forward. Actually I can recall telling my parents while I was in grammar school that I wanted to become a priest Why a priest and nothing else? I am not sure I could tell you why clearly. There was only one thing clear to me; I liked priests not because I knew them particularly well but what I simply sensed in them from the outside seemed enough to make me happy. Can you express in a few simple words what can fulfill you inside? In any case, what I am talking about at this stage of my life is a desire; my mother had her doubts but my father didn't seem to see anything wrong in it. I received all the sacraments of initiation and my desire grew. Throughout grammar school I would watch the priest from afar and my desire grew. I said to myself, "I can do that, too." It came as no mystery to me that I should enter the high school seminary. So it was that in November 1999, on a rainy afternoon, I arrived at St. Pius X high school seminary in Lomé. Here was a dream fulfilled, an adventure undertaken, but I hardly knew where it would take me. During those eight years of seminary education I felt how tenderly the Lord was leading me in varied ways. There, in the midst of other young people, I sought a future place of fulfillment. I had some incredible experiences there as I sought God's ways day in and day out. One thing remained constant for me during all this time, something I cannot really explain: that God kept giving me signs to continue along this path, to pursue this desire, which words cannot adequately describe and trying to describe it is painful; it's a profound reality. During these years I learned so much, had an opportunity to share my dreams with other young men even more talented than I, and received wise counsel from them and from elders. But this peace did not last. I left the seminary and pursued university studies; it was a world unknown to me and at times seemed like a punishment. I had a hard time thinking that the Lord would allow me to suffer in such a way without wanting some good for me. But I had my doubts. Then, after three years, I understood. He was leading me to the Assumption ---- something close by, while I was looking far away. If you ask me how it all happened, I'd been just as incapable of explaining as I was before for other things along the way. Filled with so many doubts, I give thanks for the wise counsel of my spiritual director; the desire to pursue religious life returned time and again. In the end I was filled with a deep peace in the midst of all these doubts about my future; in the end God accomplished everything in me. He took the risk of staying by my side. I believe that I never truly doubted that presence. Now he has brought me to the Assumption here in Sokodé where I had a short community experience, was accepted for postulancy, and am now a novice. Time flies and one has to make a concerted effort to take advantage of the opportunities which the Lord presents every day. I am only beginning to appreciate the many apostolic activities that the Assumption has already gotten involved in here in West Africa. I feel at home here with my brothers the Lord has given me and for whom I am not always "a gift."

And now a word about the man called to guide these young men, the new novice-master who just recently arrived in Sokodé, Fr. Benoît Bigard.

Fr. Benoît: I am originally from the Champagne region of eastern France, from a small village of only 320 inhabitants. My parents were farmers. I joined the Assumption some 24 years ago as a live-in candidate with the community of Cachan in the greater Paris area, as I was doing studies in civil engineering. My connection with the Assumptionists brought me first to Ivory Coast, to Strasbourg, to Lille, to Quebec, and finally here to Togo. I made my first vows in 1992 and was ordained in 2000. My most recent experience was in Quebec where I spent some ten years forming a new international community and helping to direct a center for faith and culture administered by the Assumptionists. It was a challenging experience to propose the faith to a population that had undergone a thorough religious revolution which left many without any organized religion and many without spiritual bearings. During a sabbatical year which followed this rich experience, I completed a year of training as a formator at the Jesuit spirituality center in Paris. I am happy to be back in Africa and look forward to this challenge of sharing Assumptionist life with young men interested in our charism.