In addition to local service, opportunities abound for students to participate in mission service experiences throughout the United States and abroad. During every break from classes — fall, winter, spring and summer — the College sponsors mission service experiences that challenge students in new ways. Led by faculty and staff members, students become engaged in issues that make a real difference in others’ lives, along with their own. In recent years, groups have traveled within the United States to Florida, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Additionally, students also have served in countries such as Guatemala, Haiti, Austria, Ireland, Singapore and Malawi. Students become involved in repairing homes and building new ones, working in inner-city food banks and churches, and caring for orphaned children. Under the leadership of faculty and staff members, these mission service trips involve both work and study related to the history, culture and issues for these areas. From these experiences, students gain as much as they give, seeing new worlds, experiencing new cultures, learning up-close about the serious problems and unmet needs that exist in the world, and about opportunities that exist to make a difference.