Can you imagine how sad and disappointed the villagers would have been if all the preparations for the inauguration of the church had been cancelled and the church leaders had not been able to come?
I was given the opportunity to fly a group of church leaders to the inauguration of a church located in the remote village of Muarah. From Wamena it took us 50 minutes to get to Muarah by helicopter, but using other means of transportation it takes days. This is because you have to walk and use a small boat to get to this village located on the edge of several small rivers.
Less than five minutes from my destination, the weather from a distance looked very bad and I could not continue my flight because it was covered in clouds. So I had to land in the nearest village, Tokuni, to wait for better weather. We hoped that the weather would change soon and we could continue our flight and the church inauguration could be carried out.
For about an hour we waited in Tokuni before I finally decided to try another flight. Thankfully the weather had improved, and we were able to land in Muarah. After unloading the church leaders, I flew on to the village of Anondi to bring home patients who were healthy after receiving treatment in the town. Because the weather was not good and I could see that Anondi village was covered in clouds, I decided to return to Wamena and try again later.
Even though there was disappointment at not being able to complete all the flight missions, I was grateful to be able to fly the church leadership to inaugurate the church and see the joyful faces of the villagers.
Dyro, Pilot
