The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

I am a child of God (I really believe that based on the love He has shown me all these years). I am a Christian. I am a Catholic. I grew up in the Our Lady of Holy Rosary Catholic Church - KNUST Catholic  in Kumasi. I had my first communion there after years of Sunday School and my confirmation. In Ghana, church going is a major thing for Christians. It is part of society, it is part of social life, in fact, it is a place for networking. It is a place for learning, for catching up on the gospel and with each other. I have not only lived in Ghana though and that is where the crux of this blog post comes up from. 1 Saturday in 2024, I was on the Konnect Kouch for Sunyani Konnect thanks to the proactiveness of Wilhemina Nunu . I was asked some questions about (my) religion. My answers drove me to do this blog post.  The  Konnect Kouch  is a version of hot seat  in Konnect Groups for its members. These Konnect Groups are WhatsApp Groups run by or in conjuncation wit...

I spent the weekend of August 16, 2024 with my sister's family in Amasaman. I blogged the start and the finish in this blog post . On Sunday, August 18, 2024, I followed my sister, and her husband and kids to church in my church attire. No, I was not wearing a Gigi from Wear Ghana. Her husband, Samuel, is a pastor. This is the Adonai Grace Hub Church in Amasaman.  It was great being at church. Various family members have been encouraging me to go to church more, especially the women. I'm a Catholic. I am a registered member of the Christ The King Parish in Accra, though I do not go as much. St John the Evangelist Catholic Church is close to where I live in Accra, and this is where my first son, Ebo, and many of his cousins were baptised. On this particular Sunday at the Adonai Grace Hub , we talked about faith, hope and love. We must share testimonies about great moments, and the few low moments and making sure there are many more great moments to come. The first reading was ...

On Friday, August 16, 2024 , I went to drop off a family friend, Sheila , at her place in Dansoman after having dinner in Osu. She did her Masters' degree in India (a country I would love to visit). She told me a lot about India which was consistent with what I have heard. She also mentioned how Christians were a minority there ( Hello Captain Obvious ) and how she engaged in her religion while in India. This blog post is about what happened after I dropped her off, it is about religion. My religion is  Christianity . 😇It's the most popular religion in Ghana , where I am from, was bred, live and care a lot about. While trying to navigate from Dansoman to go visit my sister's family in Amasaman, I decided to give some free rides like I normally do. I stopped at a bus stop somehwere in DC, mind you, I do not know Dansoman well, at all! I spoke to 2 ladies and a guy who seemed to be waiting for a trotro and asked them where they are going and if I could give them a ride. I t...

I was at church again today! What an experience it was. I won't talk plenty. I blogged this thing already while at the Light House Chapel Airport West service :-) At the Lighthouse Chapel branch of Airport West. Almost all the young ladies have worn African wear, n many guys too. Lovely. #lighthouse — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) August 4, 2013 Lighthouse folks have seen the light o. This house is full of very nice African attires. Spoting n shaddering be what! #lighthouse — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) August 4, 2013 I love wearing African attires . But you may know that already. I love seeing people wearing African attires. Especially my sisters. Ghana mmaa ho ɔ  f ɛ ! The ladies had 'spoated' paa! Some of the dresses had been made with about 5 different pieces of fabric. My people are full of colour. I was just loving this.   If you sit there n say this traditional 'African' material is from Holland n China, God is watching you :-) #lighthouse — Ato U...

I went to church today. I don't go any given Sunday by the way. My cousin, Efibah , was telling me, " I pass through your neighbourhood to go to church all the time, and I know you don't go to (any) church ". So, she passed by again and I tagged along with her. To Agape House New Testament Church . 10:30am? No problemo. Even if I slept at 4am after a partycrewgh outing, I could make that. I need to renew my faith anyway. Let's just say that once I entered the church and looked around, it only took me 2.33 seconds to decide I'd be blogging about being at #AgapeHouse . So here goes. I spent all the blog write up time tweeting. So I'm going to let the tweets speak for themselves.  Am at the Agape House in East Legon for church today. My cousin brought me here. Lovely church on all levels. — Ato Ulzen-Appiah (@Abocco) July 14, 2013 The Agape House pastor is white. I was surprised but I shouldn't be. The Christ the King priest is white 2. Hope he ...

Just a few things I had to say. A few thoughts about positivity, etc. Me thinking aloud. Let's get straight to the point(s). Oh yeah, they are tweets. Follow @mightyafrican :-). More #mightyafrican thoughts dey come. I am a Christian. I am religious. But I don't do "fa ma Nyame" aka "leave it to God". #mightyafrican — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) March 12, 2013 I believe that God helps those who help themselves. We can't sit legs lounging. We have to go and get it. #mightyafrican — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) March 12, 2013 If things are not working so well, then maybe my faith in God is what is lacking and not my faith persay. #mightyafrican — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) March 12, 2013 Positive deeds breed positive spirit which turns in many positive occurrences. Don't underestimate the power of belief. #mightyafrican — Mighty African (@mightyafrican) March 12, 2013 Positive thinking is probably the one thing I have picked up an...

This Sunday, I attended yet another Ghanaian church in the Bay Area . Yeap, you guessed right, it's in Oakland too. I had already been to the Church of Pentecost here , twice. A friend invited me to the new Lighthouse Chapel International branch that they had started in September. Her persistence paid off as I attended this weekend. Like I learnt in Ghana last Christmas, there is a Lighthouse chapel in every corner . Seriously. I hope this blog entry helps us all figure out why. There are 1200 Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI) branches worldwide in 52 nations. Talk about spreading far and wide. It started in Ghana 21 yrs through a medical student called Dag Heward Mills who is now the presiding bishop. Sorry, but I can't help but think of churches as businesses/enterprises/start-ups these days . Dag Heward Mills is every bit an entrepreneur churning out new entrepreneurs every year. There has been the question of should churches pay taxes? I think so, if they don'...

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this post, I pray God will forgive me if I step on His toes in any way. I am trying to hammer some points home and He knows my heart. A good number of times last month, I heard people say God is a Ghanaian. Obviously, they said this in a good way. Some non-Ghanaians got in the act. Why? Ghana had reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup with an interesting story. I am superstitious and I believe in God. Some people define GHANA as God has a nation ahead, God has anointed Nkrumah already, etc. Tina Sampong defined GHANA as 'God help Africa now, Amen!'. Ghana's national anthem starts with 'God bless our homeland Ghana'. A very popular video of the Black Stars surfaced before the Uruguay game with them singing and dancing. You know what they were singing about? God. Gospel. Religion. Ghana is a religious country. I am a religious person. Before the tournament, I had spoken to a friend who is not religious. He tested my faith, I ...

I ended up spending most of my Memorial Day weekend in Oakland, which is about an hour away from Stanford. No, it was no weekend get-away with the Mrs. It was no convention or conference. I just wanted to get away. I hadn't traveled anywhere for 5 months, I was going crazy. Going to Oakland is not traveling, but it constitutes spending time in another area. I had heard there were some Ghanaian/African churches in Oakland and had wanted to visit them . Since I was in Oakland for the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit one - the Church of Pentecost - a Ghanaian church, which a couple of my friends also go to regularly. I loved going to the church, it was awesome. So awesome, I had to come report the good news with you all :-) I've been to a couple of Ghanaian churches in Rhode Island and the North East. They strike serious resemblances to those back home. The congregation is populated by Ghanaian-looking people, Ghanaian gospel songs are sang, the pastor says Amen just like ...

This poem was inspired by the Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:18-23. Poem's called Know where to sow. Enjoy. Sown and grown on the wayside Well, it fell on rocks Thrown and grown along paths Trodden under by impact Shown and grown in good soil To reap the harvest of toil Rooted in filth and guilt Stemming from temptation Leaving the margin of right Nothing good for the receptacle The rains were mad last time This time, they made one sad Good fruit was borne however Through the nurturing of culture Fruit from good seeds grew Into yet another flicker of hope Favourable grounds helped to cope Into hearers and doers If oaks from little acorns should grow Then know where to sow