Daytona Beach, Myrtle Beach, Cancun – spring break hot spots. But 11 members and three staff members of the Dive, Kent State’s Campus Crusade for Christ group on campus, will skip the beach and instead head to Rome, Italy, for a missions trip.

Molly Lauck, a recent graduate of Kent State and an intern with the Dive, said the students are going to a partnering group of Campus Crusade for Christ at a university in Rome because they want to help the students in Italy have a relationship with God.

“Through Campus Crusade for Christ, there is already a group of students (in Italy),” Lauck said.

They have been living at the Roman university La Sapienza for a year and these are the students Kent State Dive members are meeting with first, she said.

“We, as an organization, partner with different locations around the world,” said Jerusha Karraker, who is involved with the Dive through Campus Crusade for Christ. “The Dive at Kent State is partnered with Rome, Italy.”

Karraker said the students are going to speak with Roman students, to see other places and to have adventure.

“We will talk about what they believe about life, what they want out of life, all kinds of stuff,” she said.

The goal is that the Italian students become Christians who will start a group and reach more students for Christ, Lauck said

“I think it would be a phenomenal opportunity to interact with the people of the Italian culture,” said Erin Duffy, a senior early childhood education major. “It is really exciting to be a part of the first group and to trust God because we don’t know exactly what to expect. I don’t anticipate that everyone will embrace my beliefs, which are the beliefs of the Bible.”

Contact religion reporter Heather Scarlett at [email protected].