Aug 7, 2024 Ghana: Same Blood

“I want you to know something—you have my blood!” Pastor Hobson yelled ecstatically through the microphone on Sabbath afternoon.

On our final day in Tamale, Ghana, Pr. Hobson introduced himself to the congregation with his new name, Kujo.

“I am Pastor Ronnie Joseph Kujo Hobson, I am here with Quiet Hour Ministries, and we have come all the way from America, to be with you, to share with you the Good News about my friend Jesus. I want you to know something—you have my blood! We are the same, and you have made an impression on me. I am glad I came here to my motherland; I will never forget Ghana!”

On this mission trip, when meeting people in the community, one might notice that many people have the same name.

In Ghanaian culture, there is a list of names that correspond to the day of the week you are born. Pr. Hobson was born on a Monday, so his Ghanaian name could’ve been Koju, which he adopted as part of his name during the mission trip.

“It was not my plan to come to Ghana,” said Pr. Hobson. “I planned to go to Kenya last year because many Kenyans I’ve pastored over the years have said that I am their people. So, I wanted to visit the place my ancestors were from. But something happened last year, and I was not able to go to Kenya as planned. So, when the trip to Ghana came up, I prayed and said, ‘Okay God, I’m going to go.’”

“Between that time and coming here, I was just excited to go to the motherland, anywhere in Africa,” explained Pr. Hobson. “But when I got here, my son received DNA test results and found out that we were primarily Ghanaian. And not Kenyan. No, no Kenyan at all!”

Pr. Hobson explained that throughout his travels, people from the content of Africa would always ask him where he is from. “They want to know which tribe I belong to. I’d answer that I am African American. And then they’d ask but where are you from? But I didn’t have a clear answer, and people from those countries didn’t understand that. So, coming to Ghana was kind of confirming, and now I know what tribe. I know what group of people I come from, my blood. So, it’s been revelatory for me. And it’s been something that I embraced as well and embracing it with the name Kujo, since I was born on a Monday. Kujo.”

Praise God for giving Pr. Hobson this special discovery and newfound identity—and that he could use it as another way of connecting with Ghanaians during the mission trip. That’s one of the beautiful things about God. He is always coordinating the details of our lives, revealing more of His care, blessing us so we can bless others.

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28