NORFOLK, Va. - A woman who lives in Norfolk is happy to be back in Hampton Roads. She was trapped in Honduras for an additional week during a mission trip.
Sara Genteline went to for a mission trip on March 12 and was supposed to return on March 18 but got stuck overseas along with several other people.
They were in a rural part of the country preaching the gospel and providing medical care.
“Each flight was getting canceled. We’d be getting good news that we’re going to come home, and the rug would be pulled out from underneath us,” said Genteline.
Day after day, she didn’t know if she could get back to the United States.
She said the grocery stores were closing, the ATMs were running out of money and the banks were closed.
“I can’t lie and say I wasn’t angry at some points. It was very disheartening and very testing to my faith as a believer and as a human being and feeling kind of abandoned,” said Genteline.
Finally, she was able to get on a flight to Miami and then back to Norfolk. She said she had to pay an extra $1,300.
She said her faith helped her to get through this difficult time.
Genteline said she’s grateful and thinks about those who are stuck.
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“I don’t regret going. It doesn’t ruin my thoughts about going on another mission trip,” said Genteline. “You can’t control what happens to you, and you can’t live in fear.”
The U.S. Department of State recently released information about the overall number of Americans in other countries.
They reported during a press briefing on Friday that they have worked to bring 15,000 people back to the U.S. from 40 different countries. They said they are tracking about 33,000 people and that some of those people are choosing to wait it out.
