Jesus Obama

With pride

Not sure who is more popular in Ghana, Jesus Christ or Barack Obama? Images and mention of the two can be found every which direction you look. References to Jesus and/or God are literally everywhere.

Didn't get a chance to eat here

If the Christians are right in their predictions on the end of time and Jesus decides to save the countries who acknowledge him the most, Ghana will be the first saved. It is truly unbelievable. Just about every car, bus, tro-tro (mini-vans turned into buses) and anything else with wheels has some reference to Jesus or God. But it's the stores that are the most amazing. Here are a few store names we saw from the window of our three-hour bus ride to Kokrobite Beach:

Jesus is Alive Furniture Construction

Seek Jesus Key Customer Service

Blood of Christ Engine Repair

God Will Do Welding

If I hadn't had a haircut right before I left for Ghana...

Oops, and it's in cement!

Can you walk on water with these shoes?

These are all real names of stores we witnessed. But the Obama thing is equally amazing. Everyone down here seems to LOVE our president. It could be because he visited the country about seven months ago. People in Buenos Aires, Argentina love Guns and Roses and I believe it is because it is one of the few mega-bands that actually toured the South American city. Or maybe it is because he is African-American and seems to care about countries other than the USA. Quite a few Ghanaians mentioned they liked him better than our last president.

"Change has come" says Obama and Ghana president John Atta Mills in this billboard

Chelsea is the #1 football team and next to Chelsea on the windshield is Obama

There are not many Americans traveling around Ghana. Most locals think Van and I are Canadian. When we tell them we are from New York City, America, their faces light up, usually followed by, “I love Obama!” No joke or exaggeration. 9.5 times out of 10 it's exactly the same. There are billboards all over Southern Ghana with Obama's face. Some just have Barack, some have Barack with Ghana's president John Atta Mills and some have Barack and Michelle. There are Obama stickers, Obama flags, Obama shirts... even Obama cookies! It is insane.

No high fructose corn syrup in these cookies

We did not see a single image of a black Jesus in Ghana. I can't count how many I saw in Amsterdam, Holland