Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 563 ｜ 'I Took the Vaccine For Her'： Samuel & Annie’s Love Story

00:00:00.000 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Monday and happy Valentine's Day. This episode is brought to

00:00:06.180 you by our friends at Good Ranchers. Kraft beef, better than organic chicken, shipped right to

00:00:11.600 your front door. Super affordable. Just go to goodranchers.com slash Allie. All right, so today

00:00:26.920 is Valentine's Day and guys, I have an amazing Valentine's Day themed episode for you. We are

00:00:34.280 also going to talk about a little bit of news in the interview that I am about to play for you.

00:00:40.880 But the first part of this interview between our friend Samuel Say, whom we've had on I think

00:00:46.500 twice before, and his fiance Annie, is about their love story from 2017 to today. He is Canadian,

00:00:55.000 she's American. They have had to jump through so many hoops to finally be together and get married

00:01:01.700 in a couple of months. You guys are going to be so encouraged listening to their story. I can almost

00:01:08.140 guarantee you're going to cry some happy tears a couple of times and also just their proclamation

00:01:13.440 of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness, even through all of the struggles that they've had

00:01:17.260 over the past few years. Politics also play into their story and the difficulty that they've had

00:01:25.980 finally coming together, being together. And so you're just going to love their story. And then

00:01:32.200 after we hear all of that, we're going to transition into talking about the trucker convoy and the

00:01:38.560 protests that are still happening in Canada against the vaccine mandates and the COVID restrictions.

00:01:43.920 Like I said, Samuel is Canadian. And so his heart in a lot of ways is tied to Canada and the freedom

00:01:53.360 of the Canadian people. He's going to set the record straight because we keep hearing, again,

00:01:57.620 that this is some kind of fascist white supremacist movement. If you know who Samuel Say is,

00:02:02.220 I think it's pretty clear that he's not a white supremacist. He's going to correct the record and give

00:02:07.060 us a very heartfelt understanding, a heartfelt, genuine, sincere picture of what is actually

00:02:15.960 going on there and the real motivations of average people who are pushing for liberty in Canada. So

00:02:22.220 you're just going to love this episode. I just know for a fact, this is a great Valentine's Day

00:02:28.100 episode, and I'm so excited for you to hear it. So without further ado, here are our friends,

00:02:32.640 Sam and Annie. Samuel, Annie, thank you both so much for joining me. Samuel, obviously I have had

00:02:42.000 you on the podcast before. Annie, welcome to Relatable for the very first time. We are going

00:02:48.540 to start by talking about, well, actually, you know what? Let's, I was going to say, we want to talk

00:02:54.900 about, you know, the hurdles that you guys have gone through to get to this point of actually being

00:02:59.160 together in the United States. But let's back up a little bit because some of you don't, some of you

00:03:04.320 out there don't even know how this couple met, how this all came about. And then we'll kind of

00:03:08.540 transition into all of the craziness that stood between you guys and actually being together to

00:03:14.600 the point to where you can get married in a couple months. So let's start there. Whoever wants to answer

00:03:19.380 how you guys met and what their relationship has been like over the past couple of years.

00:03:24.840 Yeah. I can start a little bit first. So a few years ago, I wrote an article on, it was called

00:03:35.820 I Am Afraid. And it was me detailing my, all my fears, but especially, ironically enough now,

00:03:43.580 my fear of marriage. And at the time when I was writing about that, I thought that I'm being

00:03:49.040 vulnerable and sharing a lot of my, my fears. So if I had any chance of a woman having an interest 1.00

00:03:56.840 in me, after this article, that would end right there. But somehow God had other plans. Essentially

00:04:02.280 in the article, I explained that I grew up without a father and, and that had an impact on how I,

00:04:08.440 I saw marriage and all my fears were really coming out of that. But then Annie ended up finding that

00:04:15.720 article and she commented on it. And there was something about just what she said about how

00:04:21.060 she deals with her own fears. And then I couldn't see her face. I could only, um, yeah, I couldn't

00:04:26.980 make out her face, but I really wanted to see what she looked like. Not knowing anything would come out

00:04:31.260 of that. I just, I became a creep on her social media page. Okay. So let me pause. Let me ask some

00:04:36.700 clarifying questions. So Annie first, how did you find his article? And did you comment on a lot of

00:04:43.720 articles or like, what stood out to you about that? And what provoked you to actually comment on it?

00:04:51.260 So, um, I would read Tim Challey's blog, uh, when I was at work and, you know, I didn't have anything

00:04:59.460 really else to do. And he linked to Sam's blog that day. And so I just, I read it and I thought,

00:05:08.160 man, I, I tend to be a fearful person as well. And I loved how transparent he was about his fear

00:05:15.960 because I tend to just keep it to myself. And so I just said, I love how transparent you are. Like

00:05:23.420 you're using your gifts for the kingdom. And at the time I didn't really think anything of it. I

00:05:30.460 didn't, I wasn't in the habit of, of, um, commenting on people's blogs. So this was a new

00:05:38.320 thing for me. And I don't really know exactly what it is about it that was like, oh, I have to comment

00:05:44.980 on it. So really it's just the Lord because it was out of character for me. Yeah. And Samuel,

00:05:52.060 what was it about her particular comment that you were like, okay, I want to get to know this person

00:05:56.780 a little bit more. Yeah. So I guess it was two parts to that, which is, um, she mentioned how,

00:06:03.240 when she is, uh, fearful, she reads hymns and I love hymns. And I would do that, uh, myself in some

00:06:08.620 ways, uh, listening to hymns, reading hymns was very big on me. So I was like, oh, wow, that's pretty

00:06:13.060 good. But then I just couldn't see her face and I really wanted to see her face. I, there was, yeah,

00:06:20.360 I, yeah, I just had an interest. So I went on her Facebook page, Googled her name,

00:06:25.760 and I looked at many of her pictures and I was like, oh, wow. And then, um, I think I messaged

00:06:33.460 you saying, Hey, not to be a creeper or anything, but I'm the guy, you know, who wrote our article

00:06:38.420 you commented on and, uh, you didn't block me right away. So yeah, I appreciate that. Um, yeah,

00:06:45.000 that's how we ended up becoming friends. And eventually we started dating.

00:06:49.160 So y'all just kind of went back and forth messaging on social media. Obviously she didn't

00:06:55.200 think that you were just a stalker. So that's a, that's a good first step. Um, and y'all

00:07:00.140 actually did have a pretty profound foundation because you knew that you shared the most important

00:07:04.480 thing and that is the love of Christ. Now, when, when did that actually happen?

00:07:08.940 That was, uh, in 2017, actually. Okay. So it's been a while. So tell me what happened after

00:07:15.940 that, Annie, like, did you guys, um, stay friends for a while? When did you realize that this was

00:07:22.600 kind of turning into a romantic relationship?

00:07:27.180 So at the time I was, I was turning 30 that year and I just assumed, like I had gone through

00:07:34.300 a couple of months of like, all right, the Lord wants me to be single. Yeah. And that's

00:07:39.200 okay. Right. I took a few months of like mourning the idea of having my own family and what it

00:07:46.400 meant to be single. Like, how was I going to use my singleness to glorify God and serve

00:07:54.140 in the church? Yeah. And sorry to interrupt you just to expound upon that. Um, is that because

00:08:00.280 you had been single for a long time or is that because you had turned 30 that you were kind of

00:08:04.800 mourning and accepting the fact that you might be single for a long time? What kind of caused you

00:08:09.800 to be sad about that and start praying in that way? Sure. Um, I'd never had a boyfriend before.

00:08:16.380 He's my first boyfriend and, um, and all of my siblings, I have five other siblings. I have one

00:08:24.160 younger sister who's not married, but all of them are married. They all have children. All of my

00:08:28.800 friends have children. And then they're just like me. And so I was just, you know, I was like, okay,

00:08:35.700 well, it's I've in my mind, I'm like, it should have happened by now. And it hasn't. And so there

00:08:42.160 wasn't that pressure of, or that expectation that he would, he would be a boyfriend or a romantic

00:08:50.860 interest. And so we just, we just had a great time talking and it was probably about a month

00:08:58.800 after we started talking that, um, he told me he was, there was somebody in his church who was

00:09:06.920 trying to set him up with somebody else in his church. And he was like, I wasn't, you know,

00:09:11.940 I'm just not very interested. And I was like, I got on my high horse like that. I was like, why

00:09:16.800 do you like, what is it about her? Are you, did you even talk to her? Did you even give her a chance?

00:09:23.180 Right? Like I'm getting on my high horse and he's just like, well, you know, not really. And

00:09:27.640 kind of hedged around it. And I was talking to my dad the next day and he was like, Annie,

00:09:33.720 he doesn't want to talk to somebody else because he likes you. And I thought, hold up. I need to like

00:09:42.460 rethink all of this. And I thought, well, if he is going out with somebody else, he won't talk to me.

00:09:47.980 And I would really, really miss that. And so we just had like this moment and we just started,

00:09:54.980 I was like, okay, do you like me? Cause I think I like you. And he's like, yeah,

00:10:00.520 but in the back of my mind, I'm still thinking about that article of him being afraid.

00:10:05.900 And so I thought, okay, I need to be very aware of that and not push him and allow him to,

00:10:12.180 to lead where this relationship is going to go. So he knows that, that I like him and I know that

00:10:19.000 he likes me and I need to just be patient and go at his pace. So yeah, that's how it all started.

00:10:26.560 So that was 2017. Now Samuel, tell me your perspective of that. Obviously you knew that

00:10:32.220 you liked her as soon as you saw her picture and you're like, okay, she's not only smart. She's not

00:10:37.240 only godly. She's also beautiful. So obviously you were interested right from the start, right?

00:10:44.260 Yeah. Oh, for sure. I was, but knowing that it was long distance.

00:10:49.100 Yeah. Cause you're in Canada. So some people don't know you're in Canada, she's in the United States.

00:10:53.320 So, and had you guys talked on the phone at this point or was this strictly on social media?

00:10:58.440 Yeah. So I think for maybe a month or two, it was over the phone, but then we transitioned to

00:11:05.460 speaking, sorry, it was over text. I mean, then we transitioned and speaking over the phone,

00:11:09.820 which was a bit of a hurdle for her a little bit. She was not as comfortable immediately. I had to

00:11:16.460 kind of convince her. But, but yeah, once, but I was interested, but I, I didn't know what to,

00:11:24.700 what to do with it because I was in Toronto or near Toronto and she is in, uh, she's near Columbus

00:11:30.360 in Ohio. So I was like, man, that's that long distance, that international dating thing that

00:11:36.200 it would be difficult. So I really, I really wasn't quite sure, but it wasn't until I realized that I

00:11:41.400 looked forward to talking to her every day that I thought, you know what? Um, I really like her and,

00:11:47.020 um, you know, I, I want to try to make this happen. So that's how it all, it all started.

00:11:51.980 And tell me what it was. And I'm sure there are many other things you could say now

00:11:57.020 that, um, attract you to her or just make you love her and want to marry her. But what was it

00:12:02.880 in the beginning that made you just, you know, want to continue talking to her and say, okay,

00:12:07.920 even though this is long distance and it's going to be hard, this is worth it. What were those parts

00:12:12.300 of her personality or y'all's conversations that made you decide that this commitment was something

00:12:17.060 that you wanted to do? Hmm. Yeah. Well, I, I am, um, I, I don't, I'm not someone who likes spending

00:12:26.200 too much time. I didn't even have a phone at that time. Really? Yeah. I don't like, I'm a weird

00:12:32.660 millennial, uh, I, I don't like phones. So I, but I look forward to talking to her. I, you know,

00:12:39.320 I was a hard, I've been for a long time hard to get ahold of, but I wanted her to get ahold of me.

00:12:44.080 I wanted her to be, you know, I wanted to talk to her. Um, and that surprised me because I don't

00:12:48.380 usually like, you know, spending time on the phone and talking to people about, about life. So I like

00:12:52.680 that she was a good, she became a good friend of mine. Um, and also just knowing, you know, how

00:12:58.420 different I'm Ghanaian, you know, I'm, I'm in a big city and she is not. And I was fascinated that

00:13:05.300 though we are so different, um, we were able to, uh, have a lot of common interests and that really

00:13:12.600 surprised me. Um, and I was learning things about her, just even things that she would say,

00:13:18.000 she would say things like heavens to Betsy. I'm like, who says that? Who says these things? Um,

00:13:23.860 so little things I was just learning that I, I, I really appreciated that. Um, so, and she was able

00:13:29.440 to take me out of my comfort zone as well too. And, um, you know, I just felt comfortable with her

00:13:34.420 that I, in a way that I have not felt that comfortable with people that I grew up with. And that,

00:13:39.060 that really, uh, made a big impression on me. And Annie, when did you guys meet for the first

00:13:45.020 time in person? This is a great story. So, um, he did not have the paperwork, um, that would allow

00:13:56.620 him to cross the border, but he wanted to meet in person. And so he's like, it was probably,

00:14:02.380 uh, three, three or four months after we started talking that he was like, I'd really like to meet

00:14:08.340 you in person. And I said, you're going to have to talk to my dad about that. And he was like,

00:14:15.480 what? Like you're, you're 30. Like, do you, do we need to do this? And I said, yeah, my dad is my,

00:14:22.900 my protector. He's also my pastor. And so he, you know, he, it's his job to protect me. So

00:14:30.200 I said, you're going to have to talk to my dad. And my dad said, yeah, she can come meet you

00:14:36.140 if her mom and I come with her. Wow. And he said, nah, really Samuel. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So,

00:14:47.600 so just remember, Allie, we met because I wrote an article about, I am afraid of marriage. Yeah.

00:14:54.960 And now the very first time I'm going to have to meet her is with her parents. Yeah. So I'm thinking

00:15:00.640 like, is, are we going to be getting, are we going to get married in like three months? Is that what's

00:15:04.220 happening here? So it just was too much for me. So it took me some convincing. I, but I ended up

00:15:11.780 realizing that, wait a minute, what am I doing here? Um, I remember I was, I said to you or maybe

00:15:16.720 to your dad, like, is this, is this a, I believe in courtship, but I was like, this is an arranged

00:15:21.160 marriage. Like, well, what's happening here? I'm, um, you know, it's, it's too much for me. So I ended up

00:15:26.220 changing my mind and I said, wait a minute, I'm, I'm being stupid. I'm being foolish. Uh, this is an

00:15:30.520 amazing woman. And, uh, let me just meet her parents. And, and when I did, it was, it was great.

00:15:37.300 I love, I love her parents and I see God's wisdom in that happening, considering all the issues we had

00:15:44.080 later. Um, it was God's providence. So I'm very glad that happened. And what was that first, um,

00:15:50.660 what, what, what was that first interaction like? And then where did it go from there? And either of

00:15:56.080 you can answer that. Uh, it was kind of like the movies. Uh, he said, let's meet at this, um,

00:16:05.040 Thai restaurant. And so, um, my parents were so sweet. They dropped me off so that I could like

00:16:13.080 meet him, meet him in person for the first time by myself. So they went and parked the car. And I

00:16:19.240 remember I walked around the corner and he had chosen this restaurant that had all windows. And I

00:16:26.060 saw him sitting in a seat with all these windows and we make eye contact through the window.

00:16:33.160 He gets up, he walks through the door that I kid you not is framed by like these ivory or, um,

00:16:41.100 this Ivy, uh, plant. And he has this huge smile on his face. He grabs me in this huge hug. And he said,

00:16:49.040 oh, and more beautiful in person. And I was just like, I'm going to remember this forever.

00:16:55.500 Yeah. Oh my goodness. That's so sweet. Samuel, were you so excited?

00:16:59.800 I was very excited, but I'll also be, I was also very terrified to be honest with you

00:17:03.680 because I didn't, so I knew she was coming with her parents. So when I saw just her,

00:17:09.820 I'm thinking that her parents are right behind her. And it was very, so I was very excited,

00:17:15.360 but I was also like, okay, I want to hold you, but you know, like your dad is going to be

00:17:21.560 in the corner. So I was like hugging her and then kind of pushing her away.

00:17:27.080 But no, it was, it was, it was surreal. It was, uh, it was, yeah. But yeah, she, I,

00:17:33.820 I couldn't have imagined, you know, her being even, you were even more beautiful than I thought you

00:17:39.540 would be. And that's just, yeah, that I was, yeah. Okay. So that was, that was 2017 or 18.

00:17:46.480 That was 2017. Yeah. That was still 2017. Okay. And then tell me how the relationship

00:17:51.980 went from there. Did you see each other several times in person after that or no?

00:17:58.020 Yeah, we did. We saw each other several times till 2019. Um, I was still having paperwork issues

00:18:05.660 mostly because I lost all my IDs, which made it very difficult for me to get them back. Um,

00:18:14.680 so I, yeah, I've given her all my IDs since, since I, uh, I've been here, um, because of that. So

00:18:22.740 we started several times in 2019. And then when we were in the process of me, um, getting the, the,

00:18:30.820 the visa to come here, that's when COVID happened and changed everything. So from 2017, 2019, we saw

00:18:40.280 each other a few times, but then in 20, but then from, from that year, 2019 till 2021, we didn't see

00:18:47.780 each other for two years until I saw her in August for the first time since 2019. And then I proposed to

00:18:54.780 her. What were those two years like with all the COVID restrictions, making it impossible for you

00:19:05.220 guys to see each other? I'm sure it was just so difficult. It was painful. It was, uh, it was very

00:19:13.120 painful. Um, yeah, I, it was hard because everything was difficult, right? Just, and, you know, I know we'll

00:19:21.920 talk about what's been happening in Canada, but things were difficult for the average person, but

00:19:27.160 then doing long distance or international dating, even though we're only separated by seven hours,

00:19:33.880 um, it is, it was very difficult. Um, I, it made it, you know, so Skype really saved us. Um, we,

00:19:43.640 we did as much as we could to watch movies together through Skype, share screen and, um, talk as much

00:19:50.240 as possible, but he would door dash me, uh, food on Saturdays so that we can just like,

00:19:56.320 it was so adorable. So we could like eat together and watch movies together and just have a virtual

00:20:03.080 date. Now, when he came to visit you in August, did you have a pretty good feeling that he was

00:20:10.960 going to propose or were you totally surprised? Well, so I had to go to Canada. Oh, okay. Gotcha.

00:20:18.700 Right. So, and that in itself was so nerve wracking. We had to get special permission

00:20:26.040 from the government. We had to sign out, we had to sign a paper or fill out a paper that was signed

00:20:32.400 by a lawyer that showed we'd been in a relationship for over a year. Wow. Is this Canada's restrictions

00:20:40.660 requirements? This is Canada's. Okay. This is Canada's restrictions. So I had to have a negative COVID

00:20:46.980 test. Um, in order to get across the border, I had to go through three border patrol agents. Wow. Um,

00:20:55.780 I had to, they had to download their health, AKA tracking app that showed on my phone where I was

00:21:06.520 the whole time I was in Canada. They called me every other day to make sure I was complying. I had to take

00:21:12.900 two COVID tests while I was there. And if I was found to not be complying, what is complying,

00:21:20.100 complying with what exactly? So one, yeah. So one thing that, um, we have to mention is she had to

00:21:28.880 quarantine mandatory for, uh, 12 or 14 days, which meant that she couldn't leave, um, where she was

00:21:35.960 staying. She couldn't leave. So when she got to Canada, she had to quarantine for 12 to 14 days,

00:21:41.400 even though I'm guessing you got a negative test, right? Yes. Okay. And so away from you?

00:21:47.480 Um, well, I think the rules were that I could come to you, but she couldn't leave the premise,

00:21:54.220 uh, um, or she couldn't leave the premises. So now was it like a hotel or was it somewhere that

00:22:00.380 they told you that you had to go Annie? No, no. So I stayed at his house with his mom and he stayed

00:22:07.380 with friends of his, but they called me every other day to make sure I was complying.

00:22:13.600 And, and they, they had the freedom to do random checks, um, throughout the time she was staying.

00:22:21.400 And if, if they found out that she was not at my mother's home, they would take her, um, into, um,

00:22:30.280 I'm forgetting what they called it, but basically.

00:22:31.460 They called it a state mandated facility.

00:22:34.360 Wow. Even though you tested negative.

00:22:36.380 Yeah.

00:22:37.380 Yeah, that is insane. Okay. So you had to do that for 12 to 14 days. And then what was it like after

00:22:44.380 that? You were able to walk around outside.

00:22:47.760 By that time I had to go home cause I had work.

00:22:50.940 Right. That's what I was wondering. I was like, wow, how long were you there?

00:22:55.260 Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, what we did was I just left my phone. We, we would go out after like eight

00:23:02.560 o'clock when we were hoping the government would not be checking up on us. And I would just leave

00:23:08.280 the phone at the house and just, we just had to pray a lot that they wouldn't come to check on me.

00:23:16.460 Yeah. That is insane. And so tell me about, um, the proposal, Samuel, how you planned for that,

00:23:23.460 how you talk to her dad. This is, I'm realizing this is a perfect Valentine's episode. Um, yeah,

00:23:29.260 it is. And so tell me just a little bit about that process and then what the proposal was like. And

00:23:35.080 then Annie, I would love to hear from you, just your reaction.

00:23:38.880 Yeah. So I talked to her dad, um, and I, I got his approval. Um, and, um, I, I, so I knew Annie

00:23:48.380 had said to me a long time ago that she always wanted to get proposed to, or was it married under

00:23:54.780 an Oak tree. So then I, I, uh, knowing that I did some research into Oak trees, um, around the area.

00:24:04.600 And I learned that, well, by research, she's laughing at me because I had no ideas what Oak

00:24:09.820 trees really were. So I had to talk to Paul, all my female friends say, look guys, help me out here,

00:24:14.660 help her brother out. So they gave me some good advice. And then I got all of our, our friends,

00:24:20.100 um, that, that, you know, that know her and we, um, they were all hiding in the bushes,

00:24:24.820 uh, like literally hiding in the bushes. And then, um, so since I knew we had to quarantine the very

00:24:31.020 first day, I had to propose to her that very day. I didn't want to be proposing to her. And then the

00:24:35.760 cops show up and then they stop us or something. So, um, so, um, the very first day we, we, I met her at

00:24:42.860 the, at the Niagara border and then we drove to near where we first met. The entire restaurant is

00:24:49.700 near a nice park. So we, we got, we, we, um, we parked near the, uh, uh, the area and then we walked

00:24:57.540 to the park where I had a friend of mine was a photographer hiding behind the bushes again. And then

00:25:03.220 I just, um, did a walk with her. And then I, as we were coming back around, I just stopped in front of

00:25:10.980 her. I went on one knee and I said that, um, I am not afraid anymore. Um, and, uh, that is so sweet.

00:25:22.560 And then I, um, I, yeah, I just proposed to her and then she started crying and all our friends

00:25:28.040 joined us and we were all, uh, full of tears and, uh, very happy. And, uh, that's how it happened.

00:25:35.180 So Annie, what did you, what did you think? I mean, were you surprised? What was that moment like?

00:25:41.500 So I, you know, I had been so anxious leading up to getting to Canada. Like I, I drove there. Right.

00:25:49.660 And so I didn't know what to expect. I mean, the whole time that they approved each step for me to

00:25:56.900 come, they kept saying, this is no guarantee we'll let you across the border. So when I finally got

00:26:04.780 through the three border patrol agents, I was so relieved. Yeah. I was just like, I was just a

00:26:11.740 bucket of, of tears because I'm like, okay, we finally are together. We hadn't seen each other

00:26:16.700 in two years. You know, I, I was just so incredibly relieved that I wasn't thinking about it too much

00:26:24.980 much earlier. I thought Niagara is a perfect place for him to propose. And when we had stopped to like

00:26:32.760 get some water or whatever, I thought like, wait, he didn't propose at Niagara. And I thought, wait a

00:26:38.900 minute, if he's not going to propose at all, I just might as well turn around and go home because

00:26:43.500 I don't, you know, I was just like, and then I thought he's way more romantic than I am. He

00:26:48.120 probably has something planned. Yeah. Um, so when we drove to, uh, the Toronto area and I started to

00:26:57.240 dawn on me, I was like, wait, I recognize these places. Like, isn't that the place where we had our

00:27:02.100 first date? And then we're walking around the park and I thought, isn't that where we sat on our first

00:27:07.840 date? Like things were starting to click. And then, um, when he stopped me and he said, Annie,

00:27:15.780 I have something to ask you. Then that's when I was like, oh my word, are you for real? And I'd always

00:27:22.040 told myself I wasn't going to be one of those girls who just like started crying and would like, you

00:27:26.820 know, put their hands over their face. I didn't want to be typical. And I was totally typical. Yeah.

00:27:31.900 It's just how it goes. Yeah. Oh my goodness. That's so fun. And when, how quickly did you

00:27:37.280 then have to, um, have to go home after that? Like when did that fall within the trip?

00:27:44.020 Uh, you mean back to Ohio? Yes. Yeah. So, um, I actually left a couple of days earlier than I had

00:27:52.180 planned for, for lots of reasons. A lot of it had to do with, I was, it was, I was very anxious.

00:27:59.480 You know, I was like, they're going to show up at some point because, you know, the Lord had put so

00:28:05.420 many hurdles in front of us that I was just like, it will help me to grow, but I'd rather not go to

00:28:11.320 a state mandated facility. Yeah. You know, it was, it, it was, and I tried not to, to, um, let him know

00:28:19.280 how fearful I was at the time, how anxious I was. Um, and my family was pretty anxious too. And, and so

00:28:26.260 I think it was probably nine or 10 days that I left after getting there. Um, so it was, yeah, it was,

00:28:34.560 it was a good trip, but it was also, you know, it was bittersweet, you know, there's lots of

00:28:39.840 emotions, lots of emotions. Yes. And at that point, you guys probably hadn't necessarily picked a date

00:28:45.800 for the wedding because you just didn't know, right. What it was going to take. And so speaking

00:28:51.960 of hurdles, let's talk about some of the hurdles, Samuel, that you had to jump over in order to get

00:28:57.760 to Annie in the States, because I know even up until like a couple weeks ago, things were kind of

00:29:04.500 up in the air, right? Yeah, man. Um, about the wedding day, people kept asking me when I said, I don't

00:29:11.960 know. Um, we have dates in mind, but it depends on what happens with the visa. So essentially, um, so even

00:29:21.660 to get my, so what's happening is in the visa process right now in Canada is this, um, it's very

00:29:30.500 hard to get an appointment for, for the visa because of COVID restrictions and everything.

00:29:35.620 And, um, as you know, with the vaccine mandates to leave the country, I had to get COVID. I did not

00:29:43.420 want to get COVID. I was really, sorry, I had to get the vaccine. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I had to

00:29:49.660 really wrestle with myself and my conscience and my theology and everything. Um, you know,

00:29:57.200 and at the end of the day, I had to, you know, make the choice that while I absolutely despise,

00:30:03.300 um, being forced and being in that position, Annie is worth it. I love Annie and I will get,

00:30:09.320 um, the, uh, the vaccine for her. And you really didn't want it. Like you really didn't

00:30:14.140 because you had had COVID and, you know, you had talked to a lot about being unvaccinated

00:30:19.300 and so I'm sure even though as much as you love Annie, it was probably a tough decision.

00:30:24.480 I mean, it was just tough to actually follow through with. Right. Absolutely. I actually

00:30:29.740 got the vaccine the day after, uh, I had, um, after I, I had COVID or I had gotten over

00:30:37.380 COVID, which made me even more concerned about the potential health issues. Um, so I, I got

00:30:43.320 it and then finally I, I had the, um, I, I had the, the appointment, which was all the

00:30:50.500 way in Calgary, the other side of the country. The reason why is because the Toronto embassy,

00:30:55.520 uh, the U S embassy in Toronto was essentially closed, has been essentially closed for the

00:30:59.620 last two years, which is one of the reasons why I couldn't come over the last couple of

00:31:03.100 years. So I go to, uh, Calgary, they approve me. Um, they approve the visa. I get back then

00:31:11.280 the next day or two, they send me an email saying, um, there is a snag essentially. That's

00:31:19.340 because 22 years ago, uh, my mom and I, we were in a very difficult position. We were

00:31:24.420 in a shelter for abused women. My, my stepfather, uh, had abused my mom. And for that reason, we

00:31:30.840 were, uh, forced into a shelter, uh, for our protection. And then while I was there 22 years

00:31:37.480 ago, when I was a little boy, um, I had a special trip from the shelter to go to Disney

00:31:43.980 world. And, um, when I went to, so that was 22 years ago, the embassy in Calgary told me

00:31:53.180 that they couldn't go forward with the visa until I would show them proof of my trip to

00:31:59.060 the Disney world.

00:31:59.760 Did they explain why they said, because I didn't have a visa at the time, um, when I

00:32:06.920 went to Disney world, which makes no sense because I was legally approved by the border

00:32:12.140 agents. I mean, I was a kid. I don't remember everything, but I couldn't have gone, gotten

00:32:15.440 yet. Um, and then I tried to get ahold of them after that, but it was hard for me to get

00:32:19.280 ahold of them. So that really, that was terrifying. Cause now I'm like, Oh man, like, what do we

00:32:24.380 do? So, and how, how did they expect you to provide proof? Annie reached out to me, um,

00:32:30.140 you know, when this was happening, um, telling me about this and it just sounded completely

00:32:36.300 illogical. I mean, 22 years ago, what were you supposed to save? Like the paper plane ticket

00:32:42.200 that you had? What did they expect of you?

00:32:44.900 That was one thing that they said.

00:32:46.740 Yeah. They said either my flight ticket, um, or yeah, from 22 years ago or, uh, the Disney

00:32:54.840 world ticket, um, or a letter from the organization, a letter from the organizers of the trip. But

00:33:01.560 the problem is, well, shelters are rightly very secretive and private, right? Cause they're

00:33:07.660 meant to protect the women. So for me to even get ahold of them after all this time seemed

00:33:12.000 impossible. So that really scared me. Cause I was like, I don't think I can ever really

00:33:16.340 find evidence of this trip. So, um, that made it very difficult knowing we were finally so close

00:33:22.920 and then now we seem so far away. So, um, we made them calls to, I think it's okay with us saying

00:33:30.460 this, we made calls to a Jim Jordan's office because that's Annie's Congressman. And, um, they,

00:33:37.980 man, they've been so good to us. Uh, I'm just, uh, yeah. Annie and I wept, um, just knowing how much

00:33:45.920 they were so, they were so kind of staffers. I've worked with them multiple times in different

00:33:49.860 ways and he's great, but, um, his staff has always just been so kind. And so I'm so glad

00:33:55.160 to hear that they were that way to you guys too. Yeah. Basically all she did, uh, all the,

00:34:02.260 the staffer did was call the embassy to say, wait a minute, there's a, there's a statute of

00:34:07.680 limitations of 10 years for these kinds of things. And just by saying that, saying, look,

00:34:12.580 you're not being fair to Sam, you're not being fair to him. They said, you know what? We have

00:34:16.540 everything we need. We will go forward with the process. So I wonder what the motivation was. I

00:34:21.400 mean, it's hard for me not to think that it's a little political. You're very outspoken about your

00:34:27.160 views that they would consider, you know, conservative views. And so it's kind of hard for me

00:34:32.940 not to think that that could have been part of it. I don't know. Yeah. Annie and I both considered

00:34:38.820 that. It was very difficult. There are certain things that I would sometimes wonder, should I

00:34:43.220 say this publicly knowing that we were in the process of getting this visa? Um, and it seems,

00:34:49.720 it seems very possible that that could have played a role in all of the troubles that we've had.

00:34:55.140 Yeah. Because before that he was working with the pro-life organization, CCVR. And, um, you know,

00:35:03.720 even, even before all of this, they kept putting off the visa process on their website, it says you

00:35:12.720 can have your visa within 90 days. And he had applied in October of 2018. And it was just,

00:35:20.940 he would call them and it was like, well, it's still in process. It's still in process. I mean,

00:35:27.680 it was just a constant, it's still in process. Wow. And there were, there was more than one time

00:35:34.280 that I thought, well, you know, I, I wonder, I wonder if it's because of his views. I wonder if

00:35:43.780 it's, you know, because they don't like what they, what he is saying. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't put

00:35:49.720 anything, I wouldn't put anything past them, unfortunately, but I mean, thank the Lord,

00:35:55.220 praise the Lord that everything ended up working out and that now you're there in the United States

00:36:01.080 together. Um, what is the, like, are you here for good? What's the process from here on out? And I

00:36:06.900 know you guys are planning on getting married in a couple months. Um, what does it look like for you

00:36:11.460 though, staying together in the States? Yeah. The, the, uh, plan is that I'll be staying in Ohio,

00:36:17.560 uh, for good. Um, and, um, you know, where, when we get married, we'll, we'll be, um, yeah, just,

00:36:25.120 you know, finally being able to stay together, live together, uh, after all these, all this time,

00:36:29.980 it's very exciting. Um, you know, all of our dreams have come true. So yeah, that's, that's the plan.

00:36:35.500 We're getting married on, on, uh, we're getting married in, uh, April, uh, April 23rd. And, um,

00:36:41.900 yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's surreal to me in many ways. Just this morning I saw her and I was

00:36:47.540 just, just kind of dancing and being silly. She's like, what's going on with you? I'm just happy

00:36:51.940 that I can wake up in the morning and, and then, um, you know, I'm staying somewhere else and she's

00:36:56.780 staying elsewhere, but then I just see her and then we, uh, we can just, you know, be a couple.

00:37:01.400 We're going to have our, we're going to have our first Valentine's day, um, you know, time together.

00:37:06.740 We've always had to celebrate it, you know, apart, but now we can finally celebrate it together.

00:37:11.200 So I'm looking forward to that.

00:37:12.660 Oh, that's amazing. Well, I am so happy for you guys and I've loved just seeing your relationship

00:37:17.860 and also just how you guys have remained so joyful and so steadfast, um, amidst what has

00:37:26.620 been probably the happiest and the hardest. I mean, I can't say the hardest time of your

00:37:30.700 lives, but maybe one of the most difficult times of your lives. I mean, waiting is difficult

00:37:35.680 and I'm sure it, at some points the waiting seemed indefinite and it was probably difficult

00:37:41.760 to understand why the Lord was doing what he was doing. Can both of you individually just kind of

00:37:47.420 give some advice to people who may be there in a similar position as you guys, or maybe they're

00:37:53.280 just in a period of waiting and not understanding why the Lord seems to be putting obstacles in front

00:37:59.880 of what is a good thing. Marriage, you guys being together is a good thing. And yet it was not an

00:38:05.140 easy road. And in a lot of different ways, people find themselves in a similar position and maybe

00:38:10.280 they're even questioning the Lord's goodness or faithfulness to them. Can you both just give kind

00:38:14.640 of a word of encouragement to people who might be feeling the same way in a similar position?

00:38:19.340 Yeah, it's, it was very, very difficult. The first couple of years, especially where it was like,

00:38:26.740 is this the right thing to do? Is the Lord telling me that I, that we shouldn't be together or I

00:38:32.680 shouldn't be waiting. Um, and I, you know, something that he helped me with a lot is, are you waiting for

00:38:43.160 Jesus the way that you're waiting for me? Are you waiting for the Lord coming back the way,

00:38:49.340 that you're waiting for me? That was a huge, like game changer for me because it put things into

00:38:57.080 perspective. I need to be waiting for the Lord the way that I'm waiting for him. And one of the big

00:39:05.180 things that we learned is to think about God's promises, how God has kept his promises throughout

00:39:13.760 this whole time. Um, when he got here, he got a series of letters that I think it's like a,

00:39:21.620 over 120 pages of, of me just writing to him over the last few years about, remember when this

00:39:30.040 happened, this is why you're not here yet. This is why you're not here for him. And also why you're

00:39:36.940 not here for me. I was able to open my home to a girl who needed a place to live. Um, she's 18 and

00:39:45.440 in a hard, hard home. And it wouldn't have been possible if he had been here. Right. So things like

00:39:51.420 that, they could have been big things. Some of them were little things that kept us remembering why we

00:39:58.420 were apart and that it was God's, it was for God's glory and our good. And it was, that is what made

00:40:06.960 us joyful. And that is what made us, um, you know, be together for as long as we were because we do not

00:40:14.560 recommend five years of dating. Yeah. In general, if you can avoid it, um, not your first recommendation

00:40:22.040 under said, well, thank you so much. And Samuel, what would you say? Yeah, I would say one of the

00:40:27.940 things that I'm so grateful for, and it sounds weird. Uh, we it's, it's shocking. It's weird for

00:40:34.240 us that it's been five years. Um, but yet we are gratefully thankful for them because it's built our

00:40:40.560 character. And I know for a fact that said this to Annie, that given my fears of marriage, um,

00:40:48.180 I think God used those five years to, to kill that fear because if seen those five years,

00:40:58.700 seeing the adversity we've had to overcome, I have, cause I was very afraid because, you know,

00:41:04.340 my father, um, left before I was born because of adversity. Uh, he left my mother and me, uh,

00:41:10.460 before I was born. And I've always been afraid that what if I do that too, when I get married,

00:41:15.380 but you know, over the last five years, we've had so much adversity, but, uh, we've not left each

00:41:20.300 other. Uh, we've had some very, very difficult moments, um, individually together, but yet we've

00:41:28.140 stuck together and, you know, leaving, I'm, I'm about to, uh, I'm, you know, leaving my, my, my mom,

00:41:34.740 who I'm very, very close to. Um, and that's hard. She's a single mother and she's, you know,

00:41:40.320 struggling accepting that I'm leaving and that was hard, but you know what, if I had left a year or

00:41:45.320 two before, um, I mean, during our relationship, it would have been even harder for me to cleave to

00:41:51.320 you knowing how close I am to my mom. So over the last five years, God has used the difficulty to

00:41:57.080 really, um, kill a lot of the, um, the sins and the, um, the insecurities and fears that I had to

00:42:05.300 help me to become a better man and hopefully a better husband, uh, for Annie. Yeah. And you know,

00:42:11.100 we probably don't even know everything that God is going to use this difficult waiting period for,

00:42:18.800 who knows what you're going to endure throughout your lives and throughout your marriage together,

00:42:22.740 that you'll still be able to look back at the time that you guys were dating and everything you went

00:42:27.800 through together and say, wow, God started teaching us the lesson that is helping us now way back in

00:42:33.640 2018 or 2019 or whenever it was. And so, I mean, the Lord's glory seems to just kind of work like

00:42:40.900 that. It doesn't necessarily reveal itself all at once. And he doesn't always promise to give us

00:42:45.560 the answers for our whys, but very often he shows us that kind of shimmer of light that gives us

00:42:51.160 clarity on something that was just confounding us at the time. And then maybe it's 20 years later,

00:42:56.500 we look back and say, wow, I really am seeing how the Lord is using this, as you said, Annie,

00:43:01.440 for his glory and our good. So I'm excited for just the testimony that you guys already have,

00:43:07.460 but will continue to have for the rest of your lives. Really the story that has already been

00:43:12.760 written between you guys is, um, is going to last, like its impact is going to last. And then

00:43:21.140 who knows the wonderful things that the Lord is going to do through you guys as you guys are married.

00:43:26.320 So I'm really excited about that. This is like such a strange way to shift gears and we won't

00:43:35.860 spend quite as much time on this second part of the interview, but I did want to talk to you,

00:43:41.240 Samuel. And of course, Annie, you can always step in and give your opinion on this, but since you are

00:43:45.840 Canadian, Samuel, I want to talk about, um, some of the things that are going on in Canada right now,

00:43:52.980 in particular with this, um, freedom convoy. And actually, before I get your take,

00:43:59.080 I'm going to play a montage of how the media is portraying what's going on in Canada with this

00:44:06.800 truckers convoy. And you can tell me if you think the media is correct in their assessment.

00:44:14.680 Sedition, insurrection, a threat to democracy. This city is under siege. They are now calling it an

00:44:20.200 occupation. Alarming situation there in Ottawa. The police chief is calling it a nationwide

00:44:24.320 insurrection driven by madness. This is kind of our insurrection by air horn moment. I think it's

00:44:32.020 part of the globalization of Trumpism. Canadians know where I stand. There hasn't been as much

00:44:36.080 violence as some had perhaps projected, but that does not necessarily mean that it has been peaceful.

00:44:40.900 Reports of severe vandalism and criminal behavior. Streets are clogged. The honking is incessant and

00:44:46.740 deafening. This pandemic has sucked for all Canadians. Residents that I have spoken to who

00:44:52.840 say they feel terrorized, intimidated. Residents say they feel like hostages. Residents in that area

00:44:59.120 say that they are being held hostage, that this freedom has essentially, this freedom convoy,

00:45:04.000 as they call it, has essentially imposed a lockdown on them. Oh my goodness. So there's a lot. And there's

00:45:09.900 obviously, um, you know, Trudeau has said in the past that these people hold unacceptable views.

00:45:15.320 He said that they are misogynist, they're racist, they're white supremacists. And so I would just

00:45:21.420 love to hear your response to that, Samuel, as someone who is on the side of freedom and who is

00:45:26.300 a Canadian. It's, it's absurd. Um, so much so that, uh, most Canadians now are at least maybe at least 0.95

00:45:35.740 half of Canadians are on the side of the, uh, the truckers because they know it's all lies. This is

00:45:41.700 nowhere near violent. It's, that is the most bold faced lie out there. In fact, it's been shockingly

00:45:47.500 nonviolent. Um, many of us were expecting that you'd have a small group of people out there who

00:45:53.120 might cause trouble. There's been none of that. There've been, I think, seven total arrests, um,

00:45:58.000 over the last two weeks. And they've not been for any kind of violence. They've been for, um,

00:46:02.900 things like, uh, licenses being suspended or honking horns, uh, which is now, uh, illegal in

00:46:09.760 Ottawa. It's been for very minor things that really is just a way for the, for the police to

00:46:15.580 just try to trouble, um, the, the, uh, protesters. But there's been no violence whatsoever. And the

00:46:21.700 white supremacy aspect is all lies. It's actually quite offensive because I have friends there. Many

00:46:26.920 of them are not white who are there. I have white friends there and they are not white supremacists.

00:46:32.200 Um, this whole thing is just, you know, part of their playbook to try to paint anybody that they

00:46:37.040 don't agree with as a white supremacist because they know Canadians or Americans or everyone around

00:46:41.680 the world hates white supremacy. So if they say that they think frankly, uh, to be, to be very blunt,

00:46:47.400 they think black Canadians and black people are stupid enough that if they say that this thing is

00:46:52.180 white supremacy, they will say, Oh, that's that. Then it has to be true. Then they don't think

00:46:56.340 that we can think for ourselves. Um, and the thing is this, not only are half of Canadians

00:47:00.940 supporting the VAX, um, supporting the truckers, the, the majority of black Canadians are supporting 0.67

00:47:07.040 the truckers because they have been the most, we have been the most affected with, um, the vaccine

00:47:12.400 mandates out there. So the media of course is lying and they're, uh, but unfortunately it's not

00:47:18.100 surprising. This is according to the Ottawa citizen saying police had had so far made 23 arrests,

00:47:24.700 issued more than 1300 tickets were conducting 79 criminal investigations in connection with

00:47:29.100 the demonstrations. That's what the Ottawa police have said. They had also seized fuel and cut off

00:47:34.320 material, financial, and logistical support to the occupation. And so they, they got GoFundMe,

00:47:40.180 they pressured GoFundMe, they admitted this on Twitter, um, to ensure that the donations that,

00:47:46.640 you know, average citizens, people in the United States, people in Canada, probably worldwide had

00:47:51.300 donated. I think the average donation amount was like $70. So we're not talking about like these

00:47:57.200 huge billionaires, these political activists or organizations that are funding this. These are just

00:48:02.660 average people also tired of the mandates, vaccinated, unvaccinated, liberal, Republican,

00:48:07.980 doesn't matter. Um, who just wanted to support these truckers and the peaceful protesters there.

00:48:13.960 Ottawa police said, no, GoFundMe said, okay. And now they're saying this other funding

00:48:18.480 organization, GiveSendGo, which has said they're a Christian organization. They've said, yeah,

00:48:23.260 yeah, we're on the side of, of Liberty. Uh, they are now saying the Ottawa police and the Canadian

00:48:29.260 government is saying that they are going to try to somehow stifle the attempts of people who donated

00:48:35.420 through GiveSendGo to be able to support these protesters. Uh, this article also says police have

00:48:41.620 warned of arrests and charges for anyone transporting diesel and other fuels to demonstrators

00:48:46.860 downtown who are idling their trucks to keep warm, but protesters are finding ways to bring it in.

00:48:52.880 They have begun filling gas cans with water, distracting officers or otherwise attempting to

00:48:58.700 subvert our efforts. I mean, this is a stunning use of police power to try to thwart people's right to

00:49:06.580 protest. Yeah, it is. It's, I'll be honest with you before this interview, um, I was in tears, um,

00:49:13.940 because I'm, I'm very sad about what's happening in my country. Um, Canada has been authority, you know,

00:49:20.100 authoritarian for a while, especially with the last couple of years, but in response to these

00:49:25.280 truckers, it's been shocking what's happening. Um, including some of the supposedly conservative

00:49:31.180 politicians in Canada. Um, it's, it's, it's difficult. Um, what's encouraging though is, um,

00:49:38.060 a growing majority, not, not the fringe, um, but a growing majority of Canadians are finally fed up.

00:49:44.860 And that's in part because people are praying. I have, man, the stories I could share with you

00:49:49.740 about what's happening there. I have friends there who are sharing the gospel, uh, to people and

00:49:54.260 they're listening. People are praying. You have Bible studies going on there. You have, you have wives

00:50:00.080 and children who've not seen their husbands or fathers for the last two weeks, driving across the

00:50:06.460 country to go see their husbands and to encourage them to stay there because they're protecting their,

00:50:12.360 their wives and their children. Uh, sorry, I don't mean to get emotional, but you know, um, you know,

00:50:18.120 people, so, so I can imagine how hard it is for a family, for them to not see the, you know, the leader

00:50:23.340 of the home for so long. And yet they know they're trying to just protect their families and to protect

00:50:28.060 Canada because it is shocking what's happening. The misrepresentation of the people who are there has

00:50:33.640 really been painful to watch because like you said, I mean, of course you're going to have bad

00:50:39.360 actors and you're going to have people who unfortunately don't represent the true mission

00:50:43.780 of any movement that, that can just happen. But the attempt of the media, which, you know,

00:50:50.260 we're so used to in the United States to take a few people or to take one or two kind of rogue

00:50:56.400 actors in actions and say that this is representative of the tens of thousands of people,

00:51:01.060 maybe hundreds of thousands of people who are peacefully demonstrating and protesting for good

00:51:06.540 means. Um, it's really hurtful. It's really painful. I mean, I've seen several interviews,

00:51:10.920 you're talking pastors, you're talking just, you know, your average working class person, fathers,

00:51:17.580 children, mothers, um, really just so genuine and sincere in their effort to push back against

00:51:25.920 mandates that have really hurt people's lives and livelihoods. That's what it's about.

00:51:30.900 What's been stunning to me. I say stunning. No, it hasn't been stunning. It's been very

00:51:36.160 predictable. Um, seeing people here in the left in the United States who they call themselves pro

00:51:42.800 worker. And actually when the BLM and Antifa riots were happening and the looting was happening,

00:51:47.980 which I would argue was totally disconnected from anything that happened with the police,

00:51:51.500 they were just taking the opportunity to do so. You had them saying, well, riots are the voice of the

00:51:56.440 unheard. And even the violence, the assaults, the murders, um, the arson that was happening here in

00:52:02.280 the United States were excused by many people on the left saying this is a pro worker, anti-capitalist,

00:52:08.340 anti-police state revolution. Well, now you have peaceful demonstrators who are using, uh,

00:52:14.700 peaceful means to push back actual, uh, against actual tyranny. And you're not hearing, well,

00:52:21.640 protests are the voice of the unheard of her, uh, of the unheard. You're actually hearing that that's

00:52:26.140 a form of fascism. The protests for Liberty are a form of fascism. So the pro worker socialists here

00:52:34.120 in the United States who think that there needs to be a proletariat revolution against capitalism,

00:52:39.020 they're watching this pro worker revolution and protests happen in Canada. And they're saying,

00:52:44.800 no, that's fascism. That's incredible. Yeah. Yeah. That's because the socialists,

00:52:50.740 they don't love protest or freedom of speech or Liberty, right? They want statism. They want,

00:52:57.720 they want authoritarianism. They want communism, which is why they support Antifa or black lives matter. 0.99

00:53:03.260 But even if a proletariat, even if, uh, the, um, um, even if the working class is getting harmed 0.73

00:53:11.860 significantly by these mandates and they're fed up and they're peacefully protesting because they are

00:53:17.480 not status, because they are not, um, um, protesting for authoritarianism, because they are protesting for

00:53:23.260 freedom and Liberty, which goes against socialism and communism, then they stand against them. And

00:53:28.580 one of the things that's been very encouraging is this is an anti-elitist movement. These truckers,

00:53:34.760 they're not the intellectuals. They're not the experts, right? They are just people who are trying

00:53:40.200 to protect their families and their country. And that is why the media in part hates them so much

00:53:47.520 because they're not one of their own, right? They're not the, the, the guys in the media or the,

00:53:54.480 or big pharma pushing a lot of these mandates is just people, the average person who can speak for

00:54:01.080 the average person saying, no, enough is enough. And that's why so many Canadians are standing,

00:54:07.020 uh, signing up for them as well too. Yep. And there, I just saw a report that there are farmers

00:54:13.180 actually who are now taking part of the protest. They've got their tractors. They're doing the same

00:54:18.180 thing. The big story of course, is that the ambassador bridge, which is a key trading link

00:54:23.940 between the United States and Canada is temporarily closed because of these protests, um, against these

00:54:32.040 vaccine mandates and other restrictions. And so now you've got Americans, um, who are kind of upset

00:54:37.440 about this, angry about this. But again, I just go back to so much of the hypocrisy. I mean, we have

00:54:43.680 seen much, I mean, violent protests here in the United States for causes that I don't agree with

00:54:49.760 that are doing more than inconveniencing, doing more than stopping supplies, but actually ruining

00:54:54.840 whole communities. And the very same people that are angry about the, you know, this bridge being

00:55:00.580 congested or in a gridlock were defending. I mean, the absolute decimation of cities here in the United

00:55:07.060 States. It's, it's not hard for me to understand because Samuel goes back to what you said. They're

00:55:11.940 for one cause. They're not for the cause of liberty. And so they're okay when it's violence and

00:55:16.580 inconvenience and all of that stuff on the other side, but not on the side of liberty. Now, are you

00:55:22.620 hopeful? Because we have seen some provinces, we've, we've seen them roll back some restrictions,

00:55:27.880 or at least say that they're going to. Now, Saskatchewan, I've heard is more rural,

00:55:32.060 they're more conservative. So it was kind of expected for that to happen there. But then

00:55:35.080 you've got Alberta and you've got some other places in Canada saying that they're going to

00:55:39.060 lift these restrictions. Are you optimistic that the change is going to happen? Or are you a little

00:55:45.040 bit cynical that these politicians are being sincere? I'm cynical yet optimistic. I'm cynical because

00:55:52.660 they're only not doing this because they really believe that the mandates are wrong. They're doing

00:55:57.060 this because there are elections coming up and they're seeing that. See, Ali, this, this whole

00:56:02.540 thing has been shocking to me in terms of the, um, the protests because Canadians are, this is the 0.95

00:56:07.820 biggest protest in Canadian history. We are very compliant nation. I mean, remember we are, we are

00:56:13.200 the loyalists, right? We said, no, not like those Americans. We will stay loyal to you, Britain. In fact,

00:56:18.680 Britain had to tell us, guys, please go make your own country. That's how we became an independent

00:56:23.120 nation. So for this to be happening is so encouraging. That's funny. I haven't thought

00:56:27.080 about that. I mean, I know that, you know, Canadian attitude is more compliant, but I hadn't

00:56:31.440 thought about, you know, that historical aspect. Yeah. So this is encouraging knowing that Canadians

00:56:37.780 are finally fed up and that just goes to show how bad things are for Canadians to say, no way,

00:56:42.920 no more. Um, so it's encouraging. And even in Saskatchewan, that's very encouraging. That is a,

00:56:48.300 the, the, the premier there is very sincere. Alberta, Jason Kenney, I don't, I don't think he's

00:56:56.500 sincere. Um, cause he's, he's still going to keep a form of the mandates around. He's just, um,

00:57:04.160 seemingly just kind of virtue signaling right now because he knows as a conservative, uh, premier

00:57:08.640 that his job might be in trouble because Canadians are finally fed up. At least conservatives are

00:57:13.540 finally fed up in Ontario. Um, I'm hearing that today, the premier will be announcing an anti-vaccine

00:57:20.780 mandates as well too. The problem is at the same time, he's announced that he's going to make the

00:57:26.960 emergency powers that they've received for the last two years, more permanent. So, which is pretty

00:57:32.080 scary. They've been able to destroy our civil liberties because of the emergency powers. And he's

00:57:39.660 just said now they're going to try to implement it into law. So it's, it's bittersweet that it's

00:57:45.940 encouraging knowing that there's, that they, they know that there's pressure against them now,

00:57:49.900 but yet it's hard to believe they will simply let go of their power that easily.

00:57:55.220 People will remember because we interviewed Aaron Coates when her husband was in jail

00:57:59.780 for preaching. We also interviewed James Coates when he, um, got out of jail. And I mean,

00:58:05.960 some of these conservative, uh, and I use scare quotes for people that are listening to this,

00:58:12.140 uh, leaders in Canada, they were silent about it. They had the power to do something and they

00:58:17.720 really didn't. Again, it took so much pushback, not just from people in Canada, but also from people

00:58:24.120 in the United States saying, you can't do that. Um, and now it seems like the same kind of thing is

00:58:30.480 happening. Not that it was America that motivated the trucker convoy. Maybe some Canadians 0.90

00:58:35.540 think that, um, but it is, it seems like it takes the combined voices of Americans and Canadians

00:58:43.080 to kind of really push back against what's happening in Canada. And I wonder Samuel, if you think

00:58:49.420 that at some point, Justin Trudeau and all of his crazy cowardice is going to budge on this.

00:58:58.960 Yeah, that's a great question. Uh, quickly about the American influence. I think America has

00:59:05.120 influenced this in a brief way, you know, so when Annie came to visit, uh, Canada just six months

00:59:10.580 ago, she, she was in shock about what was happening because in a sense, at least in Ohio, you guys kind

00:59:15.960 of moved on from the, you know, the COVID really in a summer of 2020. Yeah. We are, Ontario right now

00:59:23.960 is still under lockdown still. And so we've had four lockdowns already. So I think when Canadians 0.82

00:59:30.060 see what's happening in America, that you guys have mostly moved on. Some democratic states are still,

00:59:37.040 you know, hanging onto it. And I think this week they're trying to move away from that now, but still

00:59:41.280 when we see that stadiums are full and everything, it's like, wait a minute, why are we still doing

00:59:46.240 this? So I think that's been the real influence from America in that way. I also think, uh, what,

00:59:51.700 what happened with James Coates really galvanized a lot of Christians start praying. Uh, we don't

00:59:58.020 know what, we don't know God's province. We don't know everything, but I think in heaven,

01:00:01.480 I would not be surprised if we see all the prayers that the church has been doing is one

01:00:08.900 of the reasons why this started. I know Aaron, Aaron Coates has mentioned this. And I think even

01:00:12.700 the non-violence nature of this, people are praying. And I think that's a big part of this

01:00:16.980 in terms of Justin Trudeau. Well, he, so far three of, uh, three of the members of the liberal

01:00:23.040 party have, are now dissenting saying that he's being divisive and that he needs to come up with

01:00:28.620 a plan to end the vaccine mandates. That's pretty big. Yeah. So I think that pressure from Canadians,

01:00:35.700 the conservative party, and then, um, now the three liberals who are dissenting against his own

01:00:41.080 policies is putting pressure on him that I think eventually, I don't know when, but I think it

01:00:46.260 will get worse before it gets better. I'm no, I have, I'm very comfortable about that, but I think

01:00:50.260 eventually he will relent and he will end the vaccine mandates, except he will blame, he will say it's

01:00:56.820 science that's making him do so instead of, um, the, the convoy, um, um, being the reason why

01:01:03.420 he is vaccine mandates. You know, it's so interesting how liberals in Canada and liberals in the United

01:01:09.620 States and really just liberals abroad, they seem to be like in lockstep. I don't know if they have

01:01:14.900 like the same email of talking points that comes out every morning, but we're saying we're seeing

01:01:19.820 the same thing here in the States, obviously that all of a sudden they're saying, Oh yeah,

01:01:23.140 we don't need to do mask mandates anymore. Maybe no vaccine mandates either because the science has

01:01:27.940 changed. Of course, just like they've done over the past two years, they never tell us the science

01:01:32.640 that has actually motivated their change in policy. And on Thursday we interviewed someone who was a part of

01:01:38.260 the Trump white house and the COVID task force. And he was talking about how Anthony Fauci, Deborah

01:01:43.100 Birx and the rest of them, they actually never brought any scientific literature to any meetings

01:01:48.720 whatsoever to say, Hey, this is why we think we should be masking children. The same thing happens

01:01:54.100 with the CDC. There have been journalists here who have tried to reach out to the CDC and say, Hey,

01:01:58.780 can you show us the data behind why we are masking two-year-olds when the WHO doesn't even recommend

01:02:04.020 that when countries around the world aren't doing that? The CDC has never responded with any kind of

01:02:09.020 science. And yet you have an entire political party here who thinks they have a monopoly on science.

01:02:14.020 It's not scientific at all, but the playbook, it's just seems universal. Democrats here are doing the

01:02:19.860 same thing. They're going to say, Oh yeah, it was the science. Please vote for us in the midterms.

01:02:23.860 Same kind of thing happening. Yeah, absolutely. And in fact, uh, so the catalyst for the freedom,

01:02:30.020 uh, convoy was really that it was the latest update to the vaccine mandates here. We've had

01:02:35.480 the vaccine mandates since the fall here, but what started the whole thing was, um, they, they forced

01:02:41.980 Canadian truckers to have to be vaccinated before they could cross the border. And that's what really

01:02:46.460 changed things. Now I mentioned that because when they introduced that update, um, conservative

01:02:52.860 asked them, what's the science behind this, how are truckers going to be, you know, going to be,

01:02:59.100 uh, uh, infecting other people. And they could not, they truly did not have an answer. They didn't.

01:03:05.320 So the science is clearly on, it's not on their side, but yet they will, they'll point to that.

01:03:11.760 I'm guessing that as it gets warmer and then, um, you have more COVID cases going down, then they will,

01:03:17.940 they will point to the lower cases to say, well, here's why we should end the vaccine mandates.

01:03:21.620 Although that's been, that's been true for the last two years anyway, but they've been maintaining

01:03:26.580 them. Yeah. And there's really no data showing if you show the most vaccinated countries around the

01:03:32.660 world or countries that have had mask mandates, there's really no significant difference in, um,

01:03:40.360 case counts, uh, in countries that didn't have any vaccine mandates. So yeah, it's really interesting.

01:03:47.620 I don't know if we'll ever know really what's going on behind the scenes. I think that there's

01:03:52.100 a lot that we could get into and speculate about that. Um, but I appreciate you guys so much. I

01:03:58.220 appreciate your voice, Samuel. I appreciate everything you do, Annie, and for taking the time to come on and

01:04:05.100 tell us your story. I know people are going to love this and also just pushing for liberty and basic

01:04:11.160 human rights. Uh, we've seen that it actually takes us beating the same drum for years in order for the

01:04:20.120 government to catch up and say, Oh yeah. Okay. People are pushing back against this. Maybe we

01:04:24.820 should finally listen to them. And it takes compliant Canadians to wake up and say, Oh, freedom is a good

01:04:30.660 thing and push back against that. And I'm thankful for that. Yeah. I am too. I just this morning,

01:04:36.400 I saw pictures of, uh, the convoy in Australia, um, you know, and that was very encouraging to think

01:04:44.520 that Canadians could be the catalyst, um, for, um, you know, for making the movement to protest

01:04:51.000 against vaccine mandates even bigger is very encouraging. Uh, very, very encouraging because

01:04:56.460 who would have thought we Canadians, uh, might play a big role in supporting freedom.

01:05:00.920 Leading the world in freedom. Wow. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, God bless you both. And, um,

01:05:08.420 congratulations on marriage. Just a couple more months. Marriage is awesome. I know that you guys

01:05:13.120 already know that, but it truly is. I mean, it's just wonderful and I'm so excited for you guys. So

01:05:19.220 thank you so much for taking the time to come on. Thank you so much. We love you. We're very grateful for

01:05:24.880 you. Thank you. Thank you.

01:05:30.920 Okay, guys. I know you loved that conversation. I did too. All right. You guys may know my birthday

01:05:38.000 is on Friday. We're going to have a bonus birthday episode. I'm turning 30. There is,

01:05:43.800 there are a couple of things that I want to remind you of that I talked about on Instagram. I am

01:05:50.800 partnering with the pregnancy center down in Texas. I've partnered with them before and they really

01:05:55.520 need donations. They need big donations. They're, they need cribs. They need pack and plays. They

01:06:01.280 need, um, they need car seats, but they also need the normal stuff like diapers and onesies and

01:06:07.360 pacifiers and things like that. They serve women in crisis, women in need who are choosing life

01:06:13.380 for their babies. I've met a lot of these women. They are wonderful. They come to this center. They get

01:06:18.840 free ultrasound, uh, pregnancy tests, parenting classes, education courses, all that stuff. This

01:06:25.340 center is truly doing the Lord's work and disproving the myth that pro-lifers are just pro-birth. And I

01:06:33.260 love this center and everything that they are doing. We have, uh, sent them a lot of things in the past,

01:06:39.520 thousands and thousands of items. So they've got an Amazon registry that is available for you guys to

01:06:46.700 click on. I'll put it in the description of this episode. I'll post it on Instagram again,

01:06:50.200 and you can go and you can just donate an item. You can also donate money toward a big item like a

01:06:57.540 crib. So if you don't want to pay the 300 or whatever dollars for a crib, you can just donate

01:07:01.720 $50 towards that. And that really does help. And so this is just kind of something that I do for my

01:07:07.460 birthdays. And I think I've also done it both pregnancies too. And it's an easy way to put your money

01:07:13.580 where your mouth is and really make a significant difference for this. All right. I've got one more

01:07:19.160 thing to say, and that is I want your voicemails for Friday too, for our bonus episode, which is

01:07:24.340 going to be a really fun episode. So I'm going to be talking about life things and turning 30 and all

01:07:30.920 of that. There'll be something for everyone. Uh, but I want, I want, if you are 30 plus, send me 0.97

01:07:38.660 your advice, not just for me, but for the audience, just life advice that you've gotten,

01:07:44.820 that you've really appreciated, um, or something that you learned in your twenties advice that you

01:07:50.720 have either for me going into my thirties or life advice for people in their twenties, I'll be doing

01:07:56.560 a lot of that too. Um, call 682-503-1369 leave a voicemail. I can't play all of them. I would love to,

01:08:02.960 I appreciate every single voicemail, but I'll just play a few of them on Friday. That's 682-503-1369,

01:08:09.740 682-503-1369. All right. That's all we've got for today. I will see you guys back here tomorrow.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - February 14, 2022

Ep 563 ｜ 'I Took the Vaccine For Her'： Samuel & Annie’s Love Story

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