Dear Christ Covenant,
We write to you today with heavy hearts.  We were planning to share with you in this update the news of Maggie being pregnant with our 3rd child, but in her 15-week appointment with the doctor, it was found that the baby didn’t have a heartbeat.  This was a very unexpected heartbreak since Maggie and the baby had made it safely into the second trimester.  It was so unexpected that we sent Emma Kate along with Maggie so that she could hear the heartbeat.  She has a limited understanding of what happened and has shared some in our grief.  In a follow up appointment, Emma Kate passed the room where Maggie was told that the baby had died and asked “Is that the room where we go to cry?”  It has been a sad couple of weeks in our home.  We are grateful for the encouragement we have received from the friends and family who knew about what happened and have found comfort in some of our favorite hymns that give hope of a day “where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death are felt and feared no more.”

I believe that in previous updates we shared that we were praying that the Lord would provide sufficient funds so that Alex could to return to South Africa in late March followed by Maggie and the kids in April since Maggie is in the wedding of a dear friend in April.  While the Lord has greatly blessed us through the generosity of so many people, we don’t yet have the necessary monthly funds needed to return on the dates we had been praying about.  Even if we had had the needed funds, it seems the visa process is going to take longer than expected.  The visa process could take a couple of months, so were are now praying that we would have all that we need in place to return in June.  In the mean time, we will continue to connect with people and churches, tell of what the Lord is using us to do in South Africa, and pray the Lord brings in exactly what we need.

Our time here in the US has been full of meeting new people and seeing new places for the kids. Since we came back in October we haven’t been in one place for more than 2 weeks. The kids have been adjusting well to new people and the constant change of sleeping arrangements. We are grateful that they have been so flexible during this transitionary time and believe that this is due in large part to the fact that we have asked you all to pray specifically for this and God has been gracious to answer your prayers. Some of the highlights thus far have been getting to see family and introducing EK and William to them (this has been William’s first time in the US), seeing old friends and getting to spend time with them and hearing all that the Lord has been doing in our absence, meeting new people, getting to share with our supporting churches about our first term in South Africa and all that the Lord is doing through East Mountain, and a big highlight for the kids was getting to see and play in snow for the first time. In fact, there have have been a number of firsts for our kids.  They both got their first hair cuts by Maggie’s sister.  First time to Chick-fil-A or chick-away as Emma Kate calls it.  First cold Christmas. First time eating jello.  First time finding the monkey at Traders Joes and getting a lolly pop for it. First time playing in the snow and first time eating a Krispy Kreme donut.  We have really enjoyed our time in the US and even thought it wasn’t a part of our original plan, are grateful for the extended time we have been given to see family and friends.

PRAISE

- Give thanks to the Lord for our protection during a lot of travel over the past few months.  We only had one difficult situation and got stuck in the snow for a few hours in Pennsylvania.
- We are grateful that the Lord has provided several new supporters, a new supporting church, and very healthy end of year giving. 

 
PRAYER

- Pray for continued healing as we process and grieve the loss of our unborn child.
- Please pray that we are faithful and diligent in our efforts to return while trusting that the Lord has a plan that is better than ours, a plan that brings Him great glory and honor.
- Pray that we will see our extended time in the US as a blessing and that the Lord uses it to draw us ever closer to Him.

Maggie's family

Alex's family

Alex and Maggie Halbert
United World Mission, South Africa