Let’s be real — touching grass isn’t enough, and some of you need Jesus.

If you’ve ever been walking on campus or downtown and been approached by a man or woman with a name tag, odds are they’re one of State College’s Mormon missionaries. Now, there’s no need to fear the bright-eyed and energetic pair, as they often travel in groups. Oftentimes, the missionaries just want to ask you about yourself and if you have a desire to get closer to Jesus.

While many have misconceptions about the intentions of the missionaries, we decided to sit down and learn more about what it is exactly they’re hoping to accomplish when stopping students.

“Our purpose is just to help people come closer to Jesus Christ, and so we do that by inviting them to come and see for themselves,” said Jacob Johnson, a Mormon missionary.

Aside from just trying to help people become closer to Jesus, a few of the missionaries helped shed light on the importance of their work outside of just trying to get people to attend their church services.

“It’s pretty common for a lot of missionaries to help in the local communities like food banks or other service areas,” said another fellow missionary, Gage Leishman.

While most missionaries are focused on helping spread what they call “the gospel of Jesus Christ,” they also acknowledged how much the Mormon missions help prepare one for life. Men typically serve for two years and women only serve for 18 months, but members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints highlighted the importance of the fully immersive experience of a mission.

Typically, the missionaries are up at 6:30 a.m. With some time to get ready for the day and work out, the group is normally at the church studying scripture, individually and as a group, by 11 a.m. Since all missionaries need a companion, the group splits into pairs of two or three and hits the streets of downtown State College to connect with the students and young adults.

Although they spend about four hours every day trying to connect with students, it’s proven to be challenging.

“A lot of times we just get ignored, but sometimes we do get cussed out,” Jacob Andersen explained. “You try to ignore them, but we do have a lot of good conversations with a lot of people, too.”

With days packed from 6:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., many missionaries find it helpful not to be studying at the same time as their mission. Unlike most kids their age, the missionaries are exclusively studying the gospel for the duration of their mission. No school, work, or other obligations help those serving a mission be fully immersed in their experience.

But there’s a lot that goes into serving a mission, as the State College missionaries highlighted the two-week training that takes place in Provo, Utah, before they’re sent to their assigned locations. While some are sent abroad to places like Spain, Portugal, or Brazil, those assigned to State College are usually on six-week rotations throughout the western parts of Pennsylvania on what’s called the Pittsburgh-PA mission.

Although many of the missionaries had been on their missions for months, Andersen had arrived only seven weeks ago. As many can assume the shift can be a bit jarring, Andersen emphasized the importance of having a strong support system in State College.

“When I got here, I got greeted by a bunch of missionaries, and they all were super helpful, and then we all went to a house and had dinner together,” he said.

While many outside of The Church of Latter-day Saints think of the missionary concept as unconventional and somewhat strange, the mission is comparable to what many would think of when first arriving at college. From learning how to cook to learning how to do laundry for the first time, a lot of the missionaries are typical 18- to 22-year-olds navigating life away from home for the first time.

Even though rude interactions with those in State College and the hardships of moving away from home are trials and tribulations for those on their mission, many of the missionaries cited it as all worth it to “bless people’s lives.”