Trip to the Mountains by Jacob Boyd

A few days ago I went to see my friend Reece in the tribe.  I had to get up at 5:30 in the morning.  My Mom and I arrived to the Yajasi hanger at 6:30.  Sitting in the waiting room I felt tired, and excited.  When we walked out on the tarmac  to go and fly in the airplane, Uncle Zach (the pilot, we call almost all expatriate men and women we know here, “Uncle and Aunt”), asked us,  “Who wants to sit up in the front?”  I was a bit hesitant at first and then I shyly said, “Sure.”  When we took off I saw the airport and the city of Sentani.  I soon saw Sentani lake and the low lands.  Quickly the terrain changed to dense tropical forest.  We saw snaky brown rivers, logging camps, remote villages.  Then we started to get into the mountains.  Sometimes they were sheer drop offs and other times they looked like hills. 




About 45 minutes into the flight Uncle Zach asked me if I wanted to fly.  This didn’t take me by surprise because at the airport Uncle Zac added in an extra joystick for the “co-pilot”.  For the next 10-15 minutes I flew the Porter.  I could barely see over the dash.  I could not see the ground out the front window.  I could only see the clouds and I could barely see the horizon.  Uncle Zac taught me to find a cloud in the sky and keep the nose of the airplane heading towards it.  I also had to write down log information for Uncle Zac.  In a little while Uncle Zac said that we were coming to higher mountains and that he needed to fly through them.  So I resumed taking pictures.




As we came nearer, Tumbundan, I saw a waterfall and it was very clear and pristine.   I also saw the town of  Oksibil and a few other grassy airstrips.  Then I saw the airstrip where we were going too.  We circled once and Uncle Zac did a great landing.  All the village was there to greet us.  I saw my friends waving from the window of their nearby house.  Within a minute I was in their house and we began to play.  We played with Lego’s and we listened to a story (Hank the Ranch Dog) and we drew Castles and talked.  The place where they kept all of their toys was up in a high loft.  Reece and his brother’s bedroom were up in the loft.  It was much hotter up in the loft, then in the lower part of the house.  The house was humble but nice and clean and “Western”, with flushing toilets, running water, a freezer and solar electricity.

The morning passed quickly.  All of us missionary kids (7 of us) were alone in Reece’s house.  Meanwhile, our parents were giving measles vaccines to the village people.  All too soon, it was almost time to go.  First we ate lunch at the other expatriate's house there in the village.  I got to see their pet KusKus.  It was very afraid of light, because it is an nocturnal animal.  It climbed all over Aunt JoAnn.  







My favorite part of the trip was being with my friends.  That I only get to see maybe two times a year.

After lunch we said “Good bye” and climbed back into the airplane.  We flew 2-5 minutes to another village to give more vaccines.  We gave 220 shots in 2 hours.  It was my job to unwrap all the syringes from their packages.  After the villagers got their shots I handed them a sucker.    We gave the shots in a large wooden building.  I stepped on a board and my foot fell through the rotting boards. 

By 2:00 we were in the air and heading home.  On the way home my oxygen level dropped to 83% and it was 39 degrees Fahrenheit outside.  Uncle Zac had to turn on the heater in the airplane.  Soon we landed in Sentani.  It was fun to go and see my friend and where he lives.  I feel very blessed that I was able to go on this trip.