Our story with the Cursillo Movement is, above all, a story of encounter, faith, and transformation. Looking back, we can testify that Cursillo has profoundly shaped our personal lives, our marriage, and our commitment to serving the Church.
Robert attended the first Cursillo in Benin, December 4–7, 2003, sponsored by Yves Méthot of the MCFC*. This experience was a true turning point. He discovered a more personal, fraternal, and committed way of living his faith in daily life, as well as a desire to share this experience and contribute to the development of the Movement in Togo.
A few years later, Patience attended the first Cursillo in Togo, January 13–17, 2005. She participated as a candidate, sponsored by Robert. For her, it was a profound encounter with Christ and with a community called to live out its faith in daily life.
But the most beautiful thing is that the Cursillo didn’t remain merely a personal experience: it became a true school for our married life.
Through the Cursillo, we discovered the great value of Christian marriage. We came to understand that marriage is not simply living as a couple, but a vocation, a path to holiness, and a grace. We learned to live our marriage with greater patience, dialogue, forgiveness, and, above all, with Christ at the center.
While still very young, we made a decision that surprised some people around us: on August 14, 2008, we celebrated our wedding. Several of our friends, who were afraid to get married young in the Church, saw in our decision a testimony that it was possible to build a Christian family by trusting in God.
Looking back, we realize that the Cursillo helped us embrace the graces of our vocation. It also taught us to sit down together at the same table, talk openly about our difficulties, listen to one another, and seek solutions together. Our small-group meetings have become special moments of life review, in which we reflect on our journey, encourage one another, and renew our commitment to always move forward in our actions and in our daily lives. Our Ultreya gatherings have helped us remain joyful Christians, sharing our faith, our hope, and our fraternal friendship.
Since then, we have been deeply committed to the Cursillo Movement, with the desire to contribute to its growth in Togo and throughout Africa. For us, this commitment is a way of giving back to the Lord a little of all that we have received.
Today, our dream is simple yet grand: to help more people discover, through the Cursillo, the beauty of an encounter with Christ and the richness of the Church’s sacraments. We believe that the Cursillo can help couples, families, and young people rediscover that the Christian faith is a source of joy, hope, and transformation.
Our story reminds us of something essential: God can begin a great work in a person’s life through a simple invitation. Robert attended his first Cursillo in Benin, sponsored by Yves Méthot of the MCFC. Later, Patience was sponsored by Robert to attend the first Cursillo in Togo. That simple invitation became part of the story through which God helped build our marriage.
Today we want to continue bearing witness and inviting others to experience this encounter.
Our desire is to see Cursillo grow in Togo and throughout Africa, so that more people can discover the beauty of the sacraments and the joy of a Christ-centered life.
Cursillo taught us how to live our faith; our marriage teaches us how to share it every day. Together, we want to continue proclaiming that Christ is alive and that He truly transforms our lives.
Ultreya!
