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Wow, so much has happened since our last update in June.  With all the recent transition, June seems like a lifetime ago. We have now been back on the ground in South Africa for 2 months and are excited to share all that the Lord has been doing.

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Upon arrival in South Africa we had a goal of finding a home and being fully moved in as well as finding a new car within the first two weeks.  God was extremely gracious with us and allowed us to find a home that fits our family’s needs very well.  We are no longer living in Stellenbosch, but are now living in Somerset West, a bit closer to our ministry house.  From our porch, we have a slight view of False Bay to the South of us and Table Mountain to the West of us, but what we are more excited about is our yard.  We have a nice yard that the kids have already very much enjoyed on the few days that we have had that were warm and not rainy.  We were also able to find a car that suits our family’s needs as well as allows us to carry extra people for ministry purposes.  We got a 2007 Jeep Commander which has already proven helpful as we have hosted East Mountain guests on two separate occasions.  Alex also got a 150cc moped that he uses for work.  We are very pleased that in the Lord’s kindness those initials goals were meet and we are now feeling settled with the exception of a few things still needing to be hung on the walls.

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We have very much enjoyed reconnecting with the people in the East Mountain community, friends, current and former Residents and Summit participants, as well as East Mountain partners.  We have been encouraged by all that the Lord has done in our absence and are excited about all He will do during our time here.  There have been a few stand out moments from the time we have spent reconnecting with people.  One of our first Sundays back we went to visit a church that East Mountain has partnered with and got to hear one of our former Residents preach. It was truly wonderful to listen and learn from a East Mountain Resident who is now studying at a local Bible college called George Whitefield College.  We were also invited to another former Resident’s 21st birthday party which within the Colored community is a very big deal.  We were very honored that we were invited to her masquerade party and so very pleased with all the Lord is doing in her life.  We were also able to reconnect with another former Resident who is now serving as the music minister at a local church.  Over our time here we have grown very close to this Resident and shortly after our visit he called to see if he could come to our home and spend some extended time with our family.  Then next day we received a text saying “Sorry man. I was bit emotional yesterday. I just wanted to spend time with friends that care and love me.”  It was again encouraging to know that he feels loved by our family even with our extended absence and that the Lord has been pleased to allow us to impact the lives of young Christian leaders.  We are currently hosting one of our Summit participants from 2017, who has returned to visit East Mountain and the friends she made while she was here last year.

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Alex has been very active in his new role leading our leadership team and is very excited about the team that he is working with.  He has enjoyed thinking through how to encourage East Mountain to finish this year well and prepare well for next year.  Maggie has been busy with the kids, helping them get on a schedule and readjust to life here.  We enrolled them in swim class again, which has been a highlight of their time back.  It has been wonderful to watch them learn to love the water and for Emma Kate to lose the fear of getting her face wet.  In our swim class, the teacher asks that all the students wear swim caps.  Emma Kate and Will were so excited to wear their new swim caps that they asked if they could wear them during their snack time which was made all the better by a donut from Woolworths.

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To see more pictures from the past couple of months, click here!

Praise 
- We are so very grateful that we have been able to return to South Africa safely, find a home, and reconnect with people and the ministry.
- We are pleased to see that the kids seem to be adjusting well to our new routine here in South Africa.

Prayer 
- Please pray for our continued readjustment back to life here in South Africa.
- We would ask that you pray for our relationship with our new neighbors.  One set of neighbors has children close to Emma Kate and William's age and we are hopeful that we might be able to develop a closer relationship with them.
- Please pray for East Mountain as we plan for the close of this year. Pray for our year long residents who are in the process of looking at what next year will hold for them.

Alex and Maggie Halbert - United World Mission, South Africa