Diaries from the Southwest – September 2025
Friday, September 19, 2025 – All good mission trips must eventually come to an end. Our final day was a blend of completing tasks at the Community Pantry, engaging in fellowship, bidding farewell to new friends, and exploring more of the beautiful state of New Mexico. After our morning prayer circle, we headed to the Community Pantry, where we were assigned to repack peanut butter and jelly packets. Additionally, we packed another 150 bags, for the Homeless program. Lastly, we packed 25 boxes, each weighing 25 pounds, with non-perishable food items for future distribution to Pantry customers.
Here is the recap of the week for the Americans for Native Americans/DPC mission trip.
We repackaged the following :
- 21 boxes of crackers were broken down, totaling 10,500 packets.
- 28 cartons of cereal were broken down, totaling 2,240 small boxes.
- 5,500 packets of peanut butter and jelly
- 55 boxes of plums were, equaling 1,600 pounds
- 300 boxes were each packed with 14 healthy meals for the MUTTON-Food is Medicine Program. This totaled 4,200 meals for these clients of the program.
- 18 bulk cheese packages.
In addition, the Mission Team undertook several other tasks, including serving customers at the pantry, repacking large cereal bags, packing multiple pallets for the commodity food program, and repacking bacon, eggs, and various other items for the Pantry.
The work has been exhausting but rewarding. Great things can happen when a small group of motivated individuals rallies around a single cause. Our efforts for the week can be summarized as being a bridge of Christ and a beacon of His Love.
–Chris Nardo
Thursday, September 18, 2025 – It was a bit chilly this morning so our circle time to start the day was held inside in the hotel conference room that honors the Navajo Code Talkers.
Two southwest trip veterans stayed in Gallup to work at the pantry. The remaining nine headed out for cultural experiences.
We drove to Window Rock, which is across the state line in Arizona. This is the capital and administrative center of the Navajo Nation. We viewed the sacred rock formation which is ceremonially called Earth’s Center as we walked through the veterans park at the base of Window Rock.
A short drive away was the Navajo Nation Museum, where we learned more about Navajo creation stories, the Long Walk where they were forcibly removed from their lands in the 1860s, the treaty of 1868 that enabled them to return, and the livestock reduction forced on them in the 1930s and 1940s.
Then it was off to Canyon de Chellly in Chinle AZ. We stopped iat the National Monument visitor center to watch an introductory video and to visit the gift shop before meeting up with our tour guides. The tour was in 4×4 Jeeps through the sandy bottom of the canyon. We learned about the history of the different peoples who called (and a few who still call) the canyon home. The guys were blessed to hear life stories shared by our 75 year old guide Elsie, who grew up in the canyon. It was a three hour tour but unlike Gilligan’s Island, we made it back safely.
We drove the South Rim Drive and walked a short path to overlooks of the canyon floor and of the monolithic pinnacle Spider Rock.
On the drive back to Gallup we stopped briefly for a bit of star gazing far from city lights. It
Walk in Beauty,
Bill Cameron
*Scroll below the photo gallery to see diary entries from earlier in the week!*
Wednesday, September 17 – Here’s the recap from Bill Cameron:
We started the day with our morning circle time outside of the hotel where we greeted yet another beautiful day in NM.
We then drove to the remediation site of the huge and devastating 1979 uranium mining spill in Church Rock.
After that reflective time, we drove to and visited Mariano Lake Community School. We were welcomed into the second grade classroom, where we read books with the nine students.
We drove to The Community Pantry to get back to work. Tasks included repacking of crackers by the “Cracker Jacks”, cereal boxes by the “cereal killers”, bags of Food for Kids, commodities bins of food for families, carts of food for small and large families, cheese, and bags of ice.
A special treat was a visit by an elder Navajo woman who taught us how to make fry bread. Delicious!
We ended the afternoon with a visit to the rapidly growing Gallup Community Health clinic, where we learned about their expanding services, but also the enormous needs and lack of local labor/delivery and cardiology services.
Dinner at Grandpa’s Grill and desert at Dairy Queen concluded a busy day.
*Scroll below the photo gallery to see diary entries from earlier in the week!*
Tuesday, September 16 – Our day began with a morning prayer circle beside the historic Route 66, after which we proceeded to the Community Pantry and had a tour of the Hope Garden. The theme for the day was “Unpack and Repack.” Our most significant achievement was breaking down 55 boxes of plums, amounting to 1,600 pounds. We aimed to place 8 plums per bag for distribution to the Pantry’s clients. We’ve rebranded our group as “The DPC Plummers” – the best plum volunteers around. After an awesome work day, we did a side trip to the Zuni Pueblo. Until our next update, we’ll continue with our fellowship and energetic mission work.
–Chris Nardo (with photos from the crew, including a surprise celebration of the 30th Wedding Anniversary of Bill and Karen Cameron!) *Scroll below the photo gallery to see diary entries from Monday and Sunday!*
Monday, September 15 – We were given a tour of the Community Pantry, and learned about all of the people in need and programs that they support. We continue to learn about the immense needs of so many people here and the cultural, economic, political, and geographical challenges faced. There are no easy solutions, but there are people working hard to help. I am glad to be able to help in some small way.
We packed boxes of 14 meals (7 days x 2 meals per day) for over 200 patients in the Food is Medicine, MUTTON Heart Failure program. The meals include healthy recipes with foods familiar to the Navajo people, including bison and mutton.
Packing the meals involved finding boxes of 14 different meals on pallets, which at time felts like playing Jenga.
In the afternoon, we worked on several repacking tasks, including putting pallets of cereals into bins for distribution.
Peace,
Bill Cameron
(Scroll below the photo gallery to see Sunday’s diary entry!)
Sunday, September 14 – Our SW trip began with a wonderful worship service that brought the entire group together. Afterward, we traveled to the Sky City Cultural Center at the Acoma Pueblo, where we toured the village and visited a church built for Spanish missionaries. The history of interactions spanning hundreds of years gave us a deep appreciation for the Native American tribes’ perspective. Despite the past, they have integrated their beliefs with Christianity and warmly welcome all visitors to their community. It was truly an enriching experience.
Next, we journeyed to the El Morro National Monument. At El Morro, the timeless human desire for immortality inspired individuals to etch their lives into the rocks. This includes Zuni Indian petroglyphs, inscriptions from Spaniards in search of mythical golden cities, and messages left by Americans moving westward towards California.
We concluded our day at El Rancho, a historic hotel in “old” New Mexico. The hotel has hosted movie stars such as John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, and Joan Crawford. While we didn’t meet any movie stars tonight, we enjoyed fellowship, fun, and some great storytelling. Going into this trip, I didn’t know what to expect, but it has been an incredible journey so far.
–Chris Nardo (Photos from Kim Nardo)
Our group started the day with an outdoor Sunday morning service, borrowing from today’s DPC service, in an ancient site that had petroglyphs. Before we could explore more we headed to Acoma Pueblo, a village high up on a mesa, that has been continuously inhabited for hundreds of years We learned the history of the Spanish invaders and the resulting hardships the inhabitants endured. The Acoma Indians have endured through all those difficult times and are proud of their heritage. The pottery we saw is exquisite.
From there we headed to El Morro National Monument where we learned about petroglyphs and inscriptions. We hiked to the top for spectacular views before returning to cars to ride to our home away from home in Gallup.
–Diane Paul
