The day had finally come. During my first trip to Tanzania along the Rufiji in 2021, God told me that the Rufiji is my home now. I didn’t know then when that was going to be made a reality, so the fact that it was now becoming true, it was still surreal.

Thursday, May 1st in Toronto, Canada, I woke up in my Canadian bed for the last time before flying out for my two year exertion. My alarm had been set for 4:45am, but even then my body didn’t want to wait and I woke up around 30 minutes before. I got ready, had a nice heart to heart with my mom, then my brother Kyle came to pick us up. The luggage got packed in his SUV and we were ready to go.

First stop was at a local Tim Hortons as some good friends from my local church wanted to see me before I left. This meant that they had to get up around 5am for a 6am meet. How blessed I am to have these supports. They were all there waiting for me when we arrived. It was a special time that we will all cherish and never forget. We shared some laughs, heartfelt moments, and encouraging words. Some were even speechless of what to say. We all knew this moment was coming, but there was still a mix of joy and sadness for a brother leaving. Then, as we all gathered outside, they prayed for me, took a group photo, then My mom, brother, and myself headed for the airport.

My flight was for 10:45am on Ethiopian Airlines. When we arrived at the airport it wasn’t busy, so that was more then enough time…right??? What I didn’t know, was God had other plans. In Tanzania, as long as you show the visa desk your passport and boarding pass, upon request they will give you a 90-day tourist visa. There you don’t need to show proof of exit. Thing is, because online the Tanzanian government states that they require a proof of exit, the Toronto Pearson Airport representatives will enforce it, and they did. So the reps told me, “Sean, no exit ticket, no getting on that plane.” So we were on the clock, for we had until 9:45am to provide proof of an exit ticket. I called Graydon to get me a plane ticket to the nearby country of Zambia three months after arrival. Then for me the waiting game began. My mom and brother waited for me throughout the entire time at the airport.

To get a ticket ASAP, this meant Graydon had to book a ticket, receive the booking information email, then call the credit card company to push through the payment then without waiting, then receive the e-ticket confirmation, then send it over to me. I waited as Graydon hustled on his end. The clock ticked closer and closer, then it hit 9:45am and there was still no e-ticket information. I see one man and his kid approach the airline desk, the supervisor present called her supervisor, and they said the cargo bay was closed and they weren’t able to get on. Such a disappointment to get this far for this to happen.  I walked over to my mom and brother and I was fustrated, I thought I was going to have to wait until the next day. At 9:47am, Graydon calls as he sends over the ticket. He said I was getting on that plane, push and talk to whoever you need to. Both people I could find were insistent that the gate was closed and there was nothing they could do. Graydon was insistent that I continue to push. I didn’t know if it would work, but I tried. The one lady who I spoke to earlier still said there was nothing she could do. As Graydon was on speaker phone, he said, “what if you get on the plane without your two suitcases.” The lady called cargo and verified that “yes, that would work.” God made the red light green. Where there was a closed door, it was ONLY God who could open it, and he did. The patient lady gave me the ticket and I ran for the gate with jist my backpack. I got to the plane with time to spare. If my mom and brother didn’t stay with me for the entire airport fiasco, they wouldn’t have been able to take my suitcases back with them and I would have never got on that plane. I had a plan, God had another.

After I arrived in Tanzania, I heard that Graydon also had many issues outside of himself trying to make what should have been a simple task extremely difficult. Let me be clear, Satan tried to stop me from coming. God told him, “you can try, but good luck to you.” Satan tried to take me out in a car accident during my first Tanzania trip in 2021, he has tried to cause some diversions along the way, and now he tried to stop me from getting on that plane. Thing is, our God is a God of the impossible that opens doors man deems closed. He is stronger than any attack from Satan or the world. Praise be to our God!

All in all, the plane rides were smooth and I arrived to Tanzania on time. From there, I was dropped off with the Graydon and Sarah. For the start of my Tanzania journey I’m starting with essentially just the shirt on my back. I was saying to people before I left, “it’s easy to give up things, but not the people.” God was putting me to the test. Later that day, Graydon and Sarah with Ruby Mae and Boan brought me to the local Mnada market to where you see me above in the picture. I grabbed the essential clothes needed for both basic wear and Church for the next two months. There is a plan in place to ship my two suitcases to Tanzania by the end of June, but until then, pretty much all I have with me from Canada is the shirt on my back.