NHS Missionaries Travel to Gallup, NM to Teach and Serve

Fifteen members of Aquinas Institute’s National Honor Society (NHS) will travel to Gallup, New Mexico over the upcoming February Break to take part in an annual service trip.

While there, some of the Aquinas missionaries will be team teaching religion lessons on Catholic Social Justice they developed for children in grades K – 5 at Sacred Heart Catholic School. Another group of Aquinas students will serve the Missionaries of Charity, a homeless shelter for men.

Additionally, students will be helping in a life sustaining mission by bringing water onto Gallup’s Navajo Reservation daily. 40% of the Navajo people there live without water.

This year’s mission trip is the first of its kind for NHS moderator and service trip coordinator Sue Smith. For the past two years she has taken students to Jamaica where they have built houses for families in need – houses that they also raised the money to build.

“We’re excited to be trying something different this year,” said Smith, “especially something that has an impact on people here at home in the United States.”

While 40% of Gallup’s Navajo people live without water, that same percentage also lives without heat and electricity – a concerning statistic considering that Gallup is subject to temperatures as low as 30 degrees in February. To help combat this, NHS members gathered and sent warm clothing to the Navajo people in Gallup prior to their departure.

“Our hope is that we can make even a small difference in the short time that we’re there or at the very least, make someone’s day brighter,” said Smith. “It’s important for our students to see how others live and hopefully use this experience as inspiration to continue to serve others in the future.”

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