Although we have a few team members who stayed around in Burundi past our scheduled return to take care of a few remaining administrative tasks; the majority of our team returned to the US last Thursday around 2:30 pm. For those of you who are curious, our route went like this and the total travel time was about 36 hours.

Bujumbura, Burundi -> Kigali, Rwanda -> Nairobi, Kenya -> London, England -> New York, USA

There are faster routes to Burundi for anyone who is interested in traveling there for another OnCall trip; however the most economical route actually depends upon the time of year that the trip is taking place. For example last year we travelled to Burundi in November and we flew from JFK to Brussels to Bujumbura about 17 hours total. This trip included a ten-hour layover in Nairobi; but the team actually took advantage of that by leaving the airport to embark on a mini-safari in a national park in Nairobi. Everyone actually enjoyed the long layover.

On behalf of the team I want to express a heartfelt thanks to everyone who read these blog updates daily and who took time out of their busy schedules to pray for us. The trip was truly miraculous in many ways for everyone who was on the ground; but we do want to acknowledge anyone who contributed financially or through prayer; the role that you played was equally as important. The support of other Christians, family, and friends (and of course the Lord) helped to make everything that we did possible.

I’m sorry to say that we don’t have the final update on Bernice’s condition at this time; however the team did pay her one last visit on the Monday before we left Burundi. Bernice had been conscious for the first time in days and was able to take fluids orally and eat a meal. She was pretty tired when our group arrived; so soon after they got there she fell asleep; but our doctors all agreed that her progress was miraculous. We aren’t sure though of the final prognosis on her condition or date / time she was discharged from the hospital. However God is good! We are trusting that He has healed her completely; although we won’t know for sure until the rest of our team returns with the news.

Once again I want to give a heartfelt thanks from the group to everyone who read the blog and/or contributed to this trip financially, or through prayer, or through other means.  May the Lord Himself bless you abundantly for your kindness towards our team and the people of Burundi. God bless you and your families!