Many of the Saints men's basketball players found themselves in unfamiliar territory last week when the team made the trip to the edge of the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The team left campus last Friday and spent three days at Kiamichi Mountains Christian Mission, a service camp near Honobia, Okla., where they served by completing a variety of cleanup projects while on the campground. 

A lot of time was spent outdoors, whether it involved gathering stones in a stream bed for a building project, hiking the nearby trails, or staying close to the outdoors in a rustic shelter with mats for bedding. For a few of the Saints, it was their first time being so up close and personal with nature.

"When we first got there I was in total shock," sophomore guard Kedron Rollings said. "I have not ever been on a campground or anything like that. It was something that I didn't expect.

"I woke up the next morning with a whole different mindset. Not only was it a mission trip, but a time for us to get out and do something together. We really grew together as a team."

On the way to the Kiamichi Mountains, the team stopped just across the border in Arkansas to pick up a couple of vehicles that a donor had gifted to the College. They went on to KMCM to spend the night and the next two days where they cleaned up a large campground facility, filled several trailers with stones, and had some devotional time as a team on Sunday.

There was also a basketball element to the trip. On Sunday afternoon, the team practiced at a nearby high school. On Monday, the Saints drove to Hot Springs, Ark., for a scrimmage with Champion Christian College.

"I am very grateful to Artie Carnes and the Kiamichi Mountains Christian Mission staff for feeding us and giving us a place to stay," CCCB head men's basketball coach Jack Defreitas said. "We were able to help them out with some projects, but they really helped us out as well."

The trip was just one day after the entire CCCB campus had their annual Day of Service. The event takes place every year on a Thursday in September, and groups of students went out into the Moberly community to perform service projects.

Upon returning to campus, Tuesday was the start of Missions Emphasis Week on the CCCB campus, where those who serve across the globe come and share testimonies of their ministry throughout the week to the student body.

"It was a great learning and bonding experience for our team," Defreitas said. "Our students have really been pushed in the last week to look out for others' needs before their own. Any time you can get out of your comfort zone you have a chance to grow, and I think we did that."