I cannot express the sadness that I have knowing that I’ve gone a week without seeing the bright faces of the kids of the Malawi village. I also find myself struggling with the realization that I may never get the chance to see my new friends again. At the same time, I have so much happiness and appreciation for the experiences I had during my time in Malawi. I developed friendships that I will treasure my entire life. Coming back to America has opened my eyes to so many things. From the things that we take for granted, to certain aspects of my spirituality that I could improve. To say that the kids of Malawi were a blessing is an understatement. I find myself reflecting on conversations and the fellowship I had the privilege of being a part of constantly. Their smiles and laughs are engraved in my mind, and heart forever. I would give anything to be able to have another game of knockout or just a meal to exchange riddles and knock-knock jokes with them. I have flipped through the pictures they gave to me countless times remembering their personalities and the times we had together. My time since being back in the states has given me a lot of time to reflect on all the lessons I learned, and had the privilege of teaching. The experience of traveling to Malawi to serve at the Rafiki village has and will continue to shape me into a better man of God. The character traits that were in every one of the children will allow me to shine a light on the kind of person we should all strive to be. Humility, perseverance, gratitude, respect, generosity, and God-fearing, these are just a few of the traits that each of the kids showed in their everyday life. They are also traits that I will never neglect to show since I’ve had the opportunity to see them in their best form. The long-term missionaries in Malawi have done a tremendous job of developing these children into young children of God. Their faith is far stronger than I could ever describe, and it shows in their constant praise to the Lord. I cannot thank Drew Boe, The Rafiki Foundation, and each and every administrator, momma, and child enough for making this experience possible. To be able to see God working through nearly 100 kids in their own unique way, and to get to personally bond with each one was absolutely amazing. God has simply blessed me beyond measure with allowing me to take part in this trip. It has taught me things about life that I could never learn by staying in the states. As I read the countless cards and letters I cannot help but feel so loved and overcome with joy. These kids would give the clothes off of their back to a friend in need. They pray to God with the strength of an entire congregation. I could ramble on and on about how amazing these kids are, and I know that God is not done teaching me through them. I will pass the knowledge they have given me on to my future children and to my friends and family, just as they did for me. Lastly, I want to thank my awesome teammates. I never imagined I would be sent out with a more amazing group of people. I laughed, prayed, and praised more with these three people in three weeks than I thought was possible. From the breakfast to start the day, to capping the day off with devotions made each and every day a blessing. I pray that our paths cross again so that we can make more awesome memories, and maybe I could win a game of Phase 10. Colossians 3:12-14 -Don Roundtree, Texas A&M Football

In American culture and society, we tend to misinterpret what it means to be a neighbor. I would often imagine neighbor as being a synonym for someone close, like a family member or a best friend. When we went to church today, I was able to see how we could define what being a neighbor means, and how we can go off being better neighbors to one another. A great passage for this topic is in the middle of Luke's Gospel, in Chapter 10. In this selection, someone well-versed in law asks Jesus a series of questions. The last question that this man asked Jesus was: "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus then illustrates a parable in which a man on a journey was attacked by robbers, leaving this man at death's door. A Priest walked by and did nothing to help the injured man. A Levite did the same as the Priest and ignored the injured man. But a third man, a Samaritan, helped the injured man by cleaning up his wounds, taking him to an inn, and watching over him to ensure the injured man would recover. The Samaritan even paid extra funds to the innkeeper to make sure that the injured man could recover with the help from someone who could take care of him, and the Samaritan also offered to pay any future fee in regard to the injured man's recovery. Jesus then asked the expert in Law, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The Law expert replied, "The one who had mercy on him," and Jesus closes this parable by saying, "Go and do likewise." ​We are all neighbors, but growing up, I never saw it that way. I grew up in a very individualistic and selfish society where people focused on themselves and their families. The poor and those in need were often ignored and forgotten about. Even in my time as a follower of Jesus Christ, oftentimes, I ignored a person in need even when God was telling me to help them. Part of that is fear of the unknown or possible negative repercussions, but if God is telling you to do something, you should follow through with his plan for you. In Malawi, I was reminded that in America, we are the 1% and have so much to be thankful for that we often forget about just that, to be thankful. I have interacted with people who have so much less than what we have in America, some who live on less than $1. Yet, they are happy. They don't get flustered like some of us Americans do over trivial things, and they trust God's plan for them and are living the dream. These Malawians are our neighbors, just as Jesus describes in Luke Chapter 10. We as a society need to do a better job of helping those in need just as Jesus would do in a similar situation. We as a society need to let go of consuming materialism that drives our emotions too much and we need to help others where we see a need. I have struggled with this a lot of late, and God provided me an opportunity to provide someone with a good that would be of use to them. ​Yesterday we traveled to Lake Malawi, and before we got to our destination, we stopped our car by a group of wood carving shops. As we were making purchases and looking around, a man asked me if he could do a trade. I was confused at first, and then he pointed to my sweatshirt. It was one of my UVA sweatshirts. I honestly didn't want anything in the store, but he told me how the winter period would get very cold and how many people would get sick. He said that shirts like mine were hard to come by and that it would be a very valuable asset to them. I thought about it for a second. How many sweatshirts have I gotten from basketball? A bajillion! Here was God telling me that I didn't need this but that someone else did. I took off my shirt and gave it to this man in exchange for some rhino figure (lol). I didn't care about his little figure; I was just happy that God used me to help someone in need and to shine Jesus' light in my interaction with that man. I have enough material goods that others could use, and I gave a man a towel at another stand. I need to be more thankful for the situation that Jesus put me in and to do a better job of allocating resources that I have access to to those who need them. We have so much in the Western world, and sometimes we need to go to an impoverished nation to be reminded that there is so much more that we can do. I now know how to be a good neighbor, just as Jesus described in the parable, and in the future, I need to make the most of situations where God wants to use me to help those who are in need. Learn more about the USG Academy, Impact Weekends, or membership! If you have any questions, contact a USG staff member here!