No Rest For the Weary

Stepping off the plane, John saw his own name scribbled in large balloon letters across a sign held at arm’s length above the serpentine line of people snaking in front of him. He waved at his contact, an American missionary named Matthew Smith. The short blond wore an easy smile with friendly but weary eyes.

“Welcome to Port Moresby, Mr. Braddham. How was your flight?” Matt welcomed, reaching for John’s carry-on bag.

“Very long. I can’t wait to stretch out,” John replied, hanging on to the bag.

“I’m sorry; you won’t be able to do that just yet. We still have a four-hour drive to POW’s New Guinea headquarters. Then fly from there to Irian Jaya,” Smith said of the Prayer On a Wing organization.

John tried to hide his impatience. “Four hours! I thought I would take my flight from here.”

“Well, Mr. Braddham, no plane from here can take you where you need to go,” Matt said, leading the way. “Plus it is cheaper altogether to send you on the next supply plane to Irian Jaya.”

“No rest for the weary.” Not that I’ve traveled for the greater part of twenty-four hours, changing planes in Honolulu and Sidney. Nothing that I’m not used to. John reflected of his flight to Vietnam a few years earlier.

Now he was here, less than a year after attending a church service describing the shortage of the missionary pilot supply worldwide. The war in Vietnam needed all qualifying pilots.

“Come along, Mr. Braddham.” Matt plodded ahead, shaking his head.

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Jeffrey W. Bennett, is the author of Commitment-A Novel and other non-fiction books, novels and periodicals.