Dear Dr. Griffith,

When I first arrived at Presbyterian College, I thought the motto was nothing more than a nice saying, but through the experiences over the past few years that Presbyterian College has provided me, I can now say I understand. It's an obligation that we have to serve others because it is our responsibility to attempt to ensure the same opportunities to others as we have been given.

The reason I am writing this email is that there was never a more appropriate time for Dum Vivimus Servimus than last week while Tripp Rush, Reese Blackwell, and I were vacationing for Spring Break in Nicaragua. In the midst of having a great time at the beach and partying with other college kids, we took the time to meet and help Nicaraguan orphans. We played with them all day, rode them around on bicycles, danced with them to a Nicaraguan street band, gave them food and drinks, and ultimately made their "Semana Santa" (Holy Week). Although we could have completely ignored the children and opted to have gone about our way, we took the time to help the children by spending time with them. We would have never thought at the beginning of Spring Break spending time with Nicaraguan orphans would have been the most rewarding experience of our vacation, but it most certainly was.

Tripp and I are also volunteering in Costa Rica as we study this semester, Tripp with YoungLife and myself teaching English at Cleto Gonzalez Viquez School , but I do not think anything will be able to match the spontaneity of helping the orphan children in one of the poorest countries in the world.

I hope you all are doing well and had wonderful Easters, but I just wanted to share a little testimony of what Dum Vivimus Servimus means to me. Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Matt Barrett '08