Friesen Center for Service & Experiential Learning
Quite simply, the purpose of our mission opportunities is to provide life-changing, Christ-centered mission experiences for our students. Each year we offer challenging and educational local, national, and international adventures, targeted to the needs and capabilities of our college students. By crossing borders of race and culture, and by placing students outside their comfort zones, we find something wonderful happens: God gets their attention! Without the distractions of everyday life, God uses our mission opportunities to work in the lives of our students.
It was the prophet Isaiah who said, "Here I am, send me." Many students have uttered those same words in preparation for what God is planning to do in their lives. Several Huntington students have found our mission opportunities as one way to affirm the divine call placed on their lives. Others have found these trips to be a great place to explore possibilities and personal growth.
Mission and service-learning trips are offered at different times during the year and often are in connection with a sports team, through an academic department or the Friesen Center. Trips can often qualify for academic credit as well.
About Jamaica 2023
Jamaica 2023 was a service learning trip where students had career-related experiences in Jamaica and worked as a group on a mission project. Each day for 3 days they went into the Jamaican community and shadowed someone in their chosen field of study.
In the afternoon, they come back together to share their stories from the day with each other and process the cultural differences they observed. They also found time to explore the surrounding areas for fun and completed a service project as a team: they painted a 4-H building inside and out!
For recreation, the team visited a Jamaican church and worshiped there on Sunday, took a trip to the Blue Hole to jump from short cliffs into the pure blue water, and climbed Dun’s River Falls. Nighttime was full of games, devotionals, and fellowship.
