Heading to Guatemala!!! June 22, 2013

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Check out the blog updates at http://dustyhoffman.wordpress.com

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Where do we start???

The long awaited day came... August 31,  2012,  time to drag the bag out the door and head around the world to Be The Change, this time to the Omo Village in the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea.  Ironically, change began at home too as the rain finally came after being soooo absent from our lives in Missouri this year.  Its funny how that works.  I'll just assume its God's reward for doing nice things for people who need it?  IF thats the case, we can thank a great team of changers: Dusty Hoffman (thats me!), Jimi Cook, Cristi Cook, Erin Daugherty, Kim Cornelius, Kris Stewart, Glenn Willett (we  call him O.G., because he is the Original Gangster), Grant Venebal, Mark Albrecht, and Terri Simmons.  We'll call this "Team Epic" from here on, regardless of whether we can actually take crdit for the rain.  None of us are in this for any credit but rather the life experience of meeting the hearts of others, a world away who want and need the help to change their lives, and their family trees.  TOGETHER we will build a school to afford the opportunity of an educuation for generations  to build productve futures. First of all, I get a little teary writing this, just thinking of the magnitude of impact this has on lives.... That makes it a little hard to type in the dark on an airplane over the Pacific ocean to bear with me if the typos get out of control.... So, today Jimi, Cristi, Erin, Kim and myself all met in Columbia Mo at Jimi and Cristi's house and loaded up after we had said our good byes to loved ones and pets.  (Shout out to Mya Superdog Hoffman who is already famous in previous posts in this blog.... and to Wally, another dog of above-average-super-human- intelligence!)  Anyway, we loaded up in the vehicle, enjoying each others stories of BTCV builds of the past, and headed to the St Louis Airport.  Everything went really smooth... well, until TSA found Kim's weapon of choice (AKA multi-tool pliers) that just so happened to double as an edged weapon.  The nice lady in the blue uniform was really nice and didnt handcuff her or give her much grief, she just added one more item to her cache of siezed contraband.  I'm sorry I didnt get a picture of this shakedown, but I really didn't know Kim well enough to tease her about this... Hopefully I will know her well enough by the time she reads this on the internet. Hahaha. Loaded up, we take off for Dallas Texas where we are met by the infamous O.G., Glenn Willett who flew in from Ohio to meet up with us.  Its always a joy to be around Glenn, an eighty-some year old changer who has such a heart for others, this is his second time to Papua New Guinea on a build adding to his list that includes Malawi Africa, Nepal, and Rwanda among others. After a short wait and some Fuddruckers in Dallas, we boarded a Qantas 747 headed for Brisbane, Australia. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="420" caption="The start..."][/caption] [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="420" caption="All smiles, all the time..."][/caption] Kris and Erin sport their smiles, head phones, neck pillows and start making new friends... HOURS LATER.... Each time I get several hours into one of these flights across the pond I start brainstorming.... THERE HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY!  As much as I love doing this, there is nothing fun about a sixteen hour flight packed in with strangers coughing and leaning on you, but each experience is different. Last year traveling to Africa on Ethiopian Airlines was a truly delightful experience... ***refer to previous post*** That flight was full of wonderfully nice people and a crew who treated us like kings.  People walked laps around the cabin and stood in the galleys socializing, possibly because there was apparently free beer, but even without their liquor, they were all friendly.  Later in the year, I went to China (for work) and the stewardess aboard American Airlines treated us like scolded school children, or maybe cattle.... I dont know, I'm still working on repressing that memory...  This flight doesnt have many talkative people on it which can be good and bad, we're only eight hours into it so there is plenty of time for the "enjoyment factor" to go off either end of the chart.  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="420" caption="Note the excitment"][/caption] So far, its pretty good, I scored an aisle seat in the middle four seats with only one other guy in my row.  He's a nice kid... going to meet his girlfriend and visit her for three weeks, coming from New York City.  So far he doesn't mind my sock feet in his hair, so we're getting along really well.  Hmmmm.... New York to Australia.  For his girlfriend.  She must be a great girl... there has to be more to the story.  Note to self: ask nosey questions when he stops snoring. Qantas has good food, I'll give them that.  Tonight it was airplane chicken with rice and corn.  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="420" caption="Qantas cuisine"][/caption] I'll take that over the Chinese airplane fish anyday.  I got sick enough after that final flight to last me a lifetime, without any airplane fish.  It's just my humble advice, dont eat fish on an airplane.  It's horizontally and vertically too far from its source to have any hope of being fit to eat, unless you have the stomach of Andrew Zimmerman. STILL FLYING, FLYING, FLYING.......... I simply love airplanes these days that have the screen showing you where you are on the globe!  It gives you a great idea of how far you've gone, have to go, and how hopeless the search will be for my body.  After reading the book Unbroken, I think about these things.  (Ok... dont worry, because if you read this, it means we landed safely, on land, or somewhere that has wifi or cellular, so... we are probably still alive.) Right now we are about to cross the equater and soon the international date line.  [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="420" caption="Smack dab in the middle..."][/caption]   Speaking of international date lines.... I want to file a grievance.  I just so happen to have a birthday coming up on September 4th, and since being 40 is bad enough.... I dont need to rush into 41 a day earlier.  Its just not fair!  My life is flying by fast enough, I don't need to go skippin' any days along the way! Delirium is overtaking me... I'm not a good airplane sleeper so maybe I'll just try to pass out for a bit and write later...   TWO HOURS LATER.... FOUR HOURS, THIRTY THREE MINUTES LEFT TO GO... My mouth tastes like I licked the bottom of my shoe.  I guess thats why that roll of breath mints came on the dinner tray.  Hmmm, I wish I had my toothbrush out of the overhead.  oh well, New York still hasn't complained about my sock feet in his hair, I'm starting to like this kid.  I even helped him with his Australian customs card... Funny how the only question he had was if the question about "illicit drugs" included his medication.  Hmmm... The cop in me wants to ask more questions but I'm a few thousand miles too far outside of my jusridiction to care.  Maybe I don't like him as much as I thought.... but he still isnt complaining about my feet. AN ARTIFICIAL DAY LATER... Well, as quick as you read the last few lines, I lost an entire day of my life.  The clock didnt move but the calendar jumped a day... Unbelievable.  Its now 9:15am in Missouri on September 1st and its 12:15am on the 2nd in Brisbane. On the bright side.... Looking at the itinerary, it looks like we will make it home in only 7 hours.  :-) I see we are well into the south pacific, approaching the Great Barrier reef.  I know one thing, thats full of great white sharks.  Yeah, those are the big mean ones.  They eat people.  Whole.  Shark week was just on and I watched some of it.  So, if we do go down and I survive the splash... I feeding the New York kid to them first.  Then I'm gonna pray that we don't slip into one of those ocean "trenches" they so kindly posted on the little map.  Geez, is it on the map so the pilot can try to aim away from it if we go down?  Let me say again, I'm reading the book "Unbroken" and *spoiler alert* you DO NOT want to be stuck in the south pacific for 46 days adrift after your plane crashes.  *end spoiler alert* I just went and strolled around the cabin in the dark.  I dont have one of the little Qantas-standard-issue lights like the stewardesses do.  They scurry back and forth delivering apples and water, sneaking, as to not wake someone up, or as if they are smuggling diamonds out of the mine in the dark.  Whatever they are doing, they are good at it.  Anyway, it appears as though Erin and Kris are awake... They "appeared" as though they slept well.  Erin is watching some type of movie and Kris looks as though he wants off this plane as bad as I do.  I havent asked if they licked their shoes while they were sleeping, still no one is talking aboard this craft, so I'm not going to be the odd man out and start chatting. O.G. is ahead of me working one his beauty rest, it must be how he maintains his youth.  I wanted to get a picture of his in his slumber but I thought the flash might wake other passengers, like the guy behind him who appears to be wanted by INTERPOL for UFTAP.  Thats Unlawful Flight To Avoid Prosecution for you civilian types, forgive the cop in me, it flares up every now and then... but only to keep my peeps safe. Kim appears to be watching some bad british movie on her seat back viewing console.  I watched that Best Exotic Merigold Hotel movie earlier and I wont even post a spoiler alert... I'll just say its kind of like a watered down dirty movie for senior citizens in search of romance.  Thats two hours of my life I'll never recover.  At least I'll get the international date line issue recoup'd on the return... Cristi appears to be going in and out of consciousness as Jimi is sawin' logs in his window seat.  Let me tell you, from my experience, Jimi can sit down on a plane and go from the typical bright-eye'd-bushy-tailed Jimi to sleeping beauty in about  .7 seconds.  I think it's the clean livin' and clear conscience that permits this, which in turn produces a man who seems to be so on top of things that he operates at a degree of finess and efficiency that would make the energizer bunny jealous.  You'll note that if you ever email Jimi, you have a reply before your screen refreshes, that is, unless he is up to his elbows in working some medical miracle... then, he'll reply as soon as he has the blood washed off. FIFTY EIGHT MINUTES TO BRISBANE.... Whoo-hoo!!!  Lets get this thing on the ground!  (We should land at about 4:45am, fifteen hours ahead of Missouri.) Well, the lights came on a while ago and everyone seems to be alive... breakfast was served and it had BACON.  What else does one need? I dug out my toothbrush and brushed the socks off my teeth, so life is good.  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="420" caption=""O.G." Glenn Willett"][/caption] O.G. Was studiously taking notes on his travels as I snapped a picture, ensuring I cropped the international felon out of the frame... he appears to be in good spirits (O.G. that is, not the felon) and is ready to be off the plane.  [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="420" caption="Jimi, Cristi, and Kim"][/caption]   Jimi, Cristi, and Kim were sitting quietly as I stealthed upon them (observing and takimg lessons from the stewardess) as Jimi reads some literary art, Cristi ponders the deeper questions of the world and Kim watches a movie with Jennifer Aniston as a quasi-hippie. All in all, its been a good flight.  Long but good.  Our next venture will be Australian customs to fetch our bags and wait out a five hour layover in Brisbane before we board Air Niugini for a three hour flight to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.  After that, we fly another two hours and twenty five minutes to our finsl destination of Kavieng in the New Ireland Province, PNG! As we get closer, I get excited beyond words.  This is such a life experience for everyone, us as changers, and for the local population.  I simply cannot thank the people who assist this organization, Be The Change Volunteers, and support those of us who travel through financial assistance, prayer and well wishes.  It is such a worthy cause, one that I hope many will experience in a life time! ***My plan is to upload this blog post as soon as possible in Australia while I am likely to have wifi or a data connection.  Beyond that, I will try to update before we depart Australia as I will not have a feasibly priced cellular data connection in Papua New Guinea to upload the blog.  I will continue to blog and uplaod it if I can find somewhere in the town of Kavieng or closer.  Otherwise, I will upload the posts in chronolohical order as soon as I can.  Either way, stay tuned.*** Go LIKE the blog page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/beingthechangeblog where feed updates "should " occur.  Also, be sure to go Like Be The Change Volunteers official facebook page and send your prayers this way.  Safe travels, no sickness, welcome hearts, and changed lives... Thank God for Be The Change Volunteers official facebook page what we all have and never forget to pay it forward in some way.

Getting Ready....

The Be The Change Volunteers team will be heading out on Friday to Papua New Guinea!

The shots are done... The final packing has begun.

Will you follow along? Will you lend your hope, your prayers, and your well wishes for this expedition?

Follow us on Wordpress and Blogger If technology cooperates I will be updating one or both blogs!

Stay tuned and BE THE CHANGE!

Like the blog on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BeingTheChangeBlog

Spare Change...

As you probably know, last year I traveled to Malawi Africa and helped build a library at a school in a dirt village. (thats how this blog started) I paid for that on my own because I was too proud to ask for help… I’m still paying for it.  Later, I biked 200 miles and raised about $1,700 for Multiple Sclerosis.  I was shocked to find out that some people really did have a heart for helping.  To them, I am forever grateful and all of this has made me want to do more in this world.  I’m lucky, you’re lucky… others are not so lucky.

I’m currently trying to raise money for my 2012 school build in Papua New Guinea.  I’ve learned that raising money isn’t easy… we all have our wants and our needs.  Sadly, “wanting” to help someone else isn’t always on the top of our agenda when it comes to money.  Understandable…  money is tight these days.

Here is what I am proposing… donate your loose change.  Gather up the pile of change on the dresser, out of the bottom of that drawer, dump some extra weight out of your purse and donate it to Be The Change Volunteers.  We’ll call it “Be The Change, CHANGE!” BTCC

I will pick up your BTCC, sort it, count it and get you a tax deductible receipt if you desire!

This is a win-win situation.  Your change adds up and you honestly… probably wont miss it.  You can make a difference… and I NEED YOUR HELP.

Can we do this?  Will you ask your friends to do the same? Its as simple as grabbing a plastic cup and setting it where you dump your car keys… dump your keys, then dump your change.  I will pick it up from you in the central Missouri area on a few week or monthly basis, if you live far away, you can cash it in at your bank and mail a check to made out to Be The Change Volunteers.  This adds up… YOU can make a difference and not change our lifestyle… just your daily habit with that pesky change.

Comment on this post and/or drop me a note at: dusty@beingthechangeblog.com and lets do this!!!

Find me on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/BeingTheChangeBlog

BE THE CHANGE!