“You have no idea what impact you will be having.”

With one last message to send them off, the Evangel students embarked on incredible journeys.

“This is my first medical missions trip and I'm really excited about it,” said Jennifer Congdon, a pre-med junior.

Congdon is one of 11 pre-med and nursing students headed for India.

Their biology professor, Michael Tenneson, is alongside.

“We're putting feet to the Gospel is how I like to think of it,” said Tenneson.

He says there's not much that could prepare these students for what they're about to see.

"It's not an easy vacation-type trip. It's a trip of hard, hard work, and it's emotionally draining because of the great needs," he said.

This is Tenneson's fifth trip. He says the impact the students will have is tremendous.

"People are safe from dying in these clinics, and they're given an opportunity to see another side of Americans maybe that they didn't know about.”

Students will work alongside medical professionals from Springfield and, by the trip’s end, have a good feel if this field is for them.

“Just seeing the culture and being able to transcend the lines between cultures because I believe care is universal between people, and it's something everyone needs and it's something that I can provide,” said Mary Jo Sedenquist, a pre-med senior.

The trip will leave a lasting impression and a lifetime of change.

"I really feel that God has called me to do this kind of ministry with my life and I think this is a perfect opportunity to experience it and have that confirmation that this is what God wants me to do with my life,” said Britnee Leighton, another pre-med senior.

The medical students will be gone for nine days. More than 170 students and staff are participating in service trips around the world -- 12 groups in 10 countries. Not all the trips are medical related. Some groups are doing after-school programs, youth programs, and other types of service.