Traveler Stories

Gina’s Story

God’s Time, Not Mine

Guatemala 2022

Hola! My name is Gina Knorr and I traveled with the Church of the Nativity on an exploratory mission trip to Guatemala in the Fall of 2022. Because this was an exploratory trip, I expected to see and meet with a lot of the community in a very short amount of time. We needed to meet different members of the leadership council to better understand the needs of the community. However, God had other plans as He usually does and reminded me that I was on His time, not my own. Within our first few days in the country, a very bad rainstorm erupted and prevented us from traveling into the community due to dangerous roads and hazardous driving conditions. This opened up the opportunity to visit a rehabilitation center which hadn’t been in our original itinerary. Visiting the rehabilitation center allowed my team and I to learn more about their services which included physical therapy, speech therapy and psychological therapy to the community children. 

One impactful moment I had while in the community was meeting Hugo, a community member of Vista Hermosa. Hugo dedicated each day to transport children with disabilities to the rehabilitation center. Every day he would pick the children up take them to the center and then take them home once their sessions were complete. It was truly special, hearing his story and being able to meet him in person. This service that Hugo was providing, allowed parents to get the needed service for their children every day. The roads in the highlands of Guatemala where Vista Hermosa is located can be rough terrain, especially in the rainy season as mudslides are common. The fact that Hugo understands this risk, makes his work and this service even more outstanding. 

God was truly seen through the people of Vista Hermosa and their hospitality. When visiting homes, we were graciously welcomed by the family and told upon leaving that we were always welcomed back.