Welcome to Tanzania!

 

    I woke up this morning to this amazing view outside our new home in Tanzania! The three of us student missionaries (Erin Yoon, Becky Lim, and I) arrived at Heri Hospital yesterday after a long, eventful, but definitely memorable trip across the globe.

    The journey began when Erin and I arrived at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. To be safe, we arrived around 3 hours before our flight was set to leave. We each had our complementary check-in luggages and carry on luggages, but we had also been asked to bring a keyboard for the church here in Tanzania. The problem with the keyboard was that it was not only oversized- it was also extremely overweight. Because of this, we were the very last group to check into the flight. The airline didn’t want to allow us to even take the keyboard, but we were finally able to check it in as an extra oversized luggage. At this point, there was only an hour left until our flight was scheduled to depart Atlanta, and our tickets still hadn’t been processed! We were praying and praying. I kept telling myself, if God wants us in Tanzania, He’ll get us to Tanzania! Once we finally got our tickets, we rushed through security and located our gate. We ran through the airport and arrived at our gate just as the flight was finishing to board! It was a miracle that we even made it on that flight- the first miracle of many. 

    After about 11 hours of a pleasantly smooth flight, we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, where we were supposed to meet up with Becky before our next flight to Dar es Salaaam, Tanzania. However, Becky’s flight had been delayed, and we didn’t see her (even though we waited at our gate until almost everyone had boarded). We were both very worried that Becky wouldn’t make it on the flight. We considered waiting for her longer, but decided that it would be less trouble for only one of us to need a new flight. We boarded, and continued to pray that Becky would either make it on the final boarding call or find a new flight. Though we didn’t see her board the flight, our plane took off and we prayed for her safety. 

 

   About an hour into the flight, I walked up to the bathroom and there found Becky sitting in a seat not too far from us! I was in shock. I had been completely convinced that she hadn’t made it on the flight and would need to find another flight the next day. But Gos had made a way! She told us that her flight had been extremely delayed and she had had to run across the entire airport to arrive at the next gate just before the gate closed. We were so happy to see her and really felt God watching out for us. It was another miracle!

   Thankfully, our flights were both smooth and we arrived in Dar es Salaam safely, where we needed to get our visas. Getting visas is normally a very long and complicated process, so we were prepared to encounter some issues. However, we were able to get our visas quickly and without any problems—another miracle, which we were so thankful for.

(Left to right: me, Erin, and Becky in the Dar es Salaam airport)

    We were so grateful to finally be in Tanzania! We only had one flight left, a domestic flight to Kigoma from Dar es Salaam. Since we were transferring from an international airline to the local airline, we needed to pick up our checked baggage and recheck them at the domestic terminal. We expected to have a hard time checking in the oversized, overweight keyboard especially on a small flight like this one. But once again, we were pleasantly surprised and abundantly thankful when we got through the check in and security with almost no problems. After 30 hours of travel, we were headed off to Kigoma! 

Erin and I boarding our last flight to Kigoma! 

    Though it was a very small plane, we had an uneventful flight to the tiny airport of Kigoma. We were picked up by Mrs. Yvonne Ine, who is the missionary located at Heri Hospital along with her husband, Dr. Henry Ine. She welcomed us with so much hospitality and kindness! The last miracle of the trip was the fact that we fit 6 check in luggages, 3 carry on luggages, 3 backpacks, and one keyboard all in the trunk of the van! We drove about 45 minutes from Kigoma to arrive at the hospital compound where we are now  staying. 

  Throughout this crazy trip, I resonated with one Bible verse in particular. It says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6. Though this is a commonly known verse, I found a new meaning to it this week. God was directing our paths during this trip, we just needed to trust in Him. We are so very blessed to be here, to have arrived safely and well, and to be provided with such a warm welcome. We can’t wait to see the experiences that are to come, and the way God will continue to direct our paths! 

 

Happy Sabbath from Tanzania! 

Or should I say, Sabato Njema ;)