If you read our last update, you might have seen that we are fundraising to buy a family van. What you might NOT have seen is my stomach lurching and face twisting when I asked our beloved friends, family, and people of the Internet for help.

We have been sustained as missionaries in South Africa by people's giving for almost thirteen years. THIRTEEN YEARS...

Kacy: "Hey Benjamin, do you think God gave you special powers?"

Benjamin: "YESSSS!"

Kacy:"What are they?"

Benjamin: "VEGETABLES!"

Welcome to the Ladd Family Update! If you're reading this, THANK YOU. We are so grateful for a relationship with you and a few minutes of your time. We hope to hear back from you and have an opportunity to invest in you - you matter!

We had a baby! And we officially miss you.

It's high time for a Ladd family update. Let’s jump right to the highlight reel, shall we?

WE'VE GOT SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!

Some of our communication has been sparse lately, but it's not because we don't have anything to say. And it's certainly not because we aren't thinking of you, praying for you and thanking God for you. My mom is landing in Cape Town in less than 48 hours. I'm reverberating with excitement and a ninja baby in my belly. The goal here today is not to be poetic, but to get to the point... with bullet points.

It's exactly nine weeks until our little boy's due date - April 10, 2022. My prediction is that he will come a week late, just like his brother, and I'll go into labor on the Saturday night before Easter Sunday. I told Chris to get a backup plan ready for church!

His name is…

We dropped our 2-year olds at school, paused responsibilities, and met at a cafe to celebrate our "South African birthdays". Melanie and I are both American missionaries who came to South Africa solo in January 2010, never expecting to start families and build lives here. We became fast friends when we met a few years ago, both trying to figure out how to care for our newborns a hemisphere away from our home churches and families. Our sons ADORE each other, and it's a precious gift to find a friend that understands both my home culture and the beautiful tension of cross-cultural families.

Have you heard about Words to Live By!?! Read this short blog for everything you need to know about it. Chris and I are passionate about this discipline. I promise… it will change your life! I want to share my 2022 Words to Live By with you to encourage you to write your own! Mine my change over time as I settle into declaring them out loud daily, but here’s what I’m starting with. You can click the button below for a list of declarations that you can use to make your own. I used this list and a few other resources I’ll share below as well. Let me know if you’ve written yours too!

It's earlier than "they" say we should share the news. But this is what we do. We share life as it happens, and we go through the lows and highs together. We use this space to stay connected to friends and family all over the world, and we want to share the news!

There’s an update! There hasn’t been an update in a very, very long time! If you’re new here: YAY! I’m glad you’re here. You can catch up on the visa saga here.

Benjamin and I headed downtown bright and early on Monday morning, armed and ready with snacks, toys and passports in hand. We arrived in our immigration lawyer’s office on the 27th floor to sign some documents and get briefed…

We love having a prayer team of family and friends around the world. We’re calling in everyone for this one!

On Sunday night, President Ramaphosa addressed the nation to extend our Covid lockdown. Vaccinations are rolling out now, but numbers are still rising rapidly.

Have you ever had a hope hurt so badly you couldn't pray for it anymore? Do you know the deafening silence that follows your "amen" night after night, year after year?

Take a journey with me through our last 7 years...

I’m posting this blog a day early because I AM SO EXCITED! I’m learning how to podcast!

Help Club for Moms has an inspiring and relevant podcast that makes it easy for busy moms to understand God’s Word in practical, encouraging ways. Our God is outside of time and space, and now we can reach the ends of the earth with His Good News! You have to be excited about that!

Happy New Year from the Ladd family! News seems more extreme than ever on the global scale. Thanks for taking a moment to zoom in to our little corner of the world. We have much to share with you, and we can do it with pictures and bullet points! Here’s some noteworthy news from us. HINT: Hang in till the end or skip ahead: The last part is the best!

This was not the miracle story I intended to share with you today. (Another great reason to extend miracle week!) But there’s a real-time reason I chose this story to share with you - and even post it a day early. This is a testimony and an invitation. Both of our boys need birth certificates still. This has many implications on our everyday lives, as well as the big picture….

I set up a studio on my bathroom floor last night- the only space in my house available to film a live teaching! I strategically positioned myself to keep the toilet and missing drawer knobs off-camera, and I spoke to moms around the world about the miracles I have seen.

You were the first GoGo I knew, so I called you “GoGo” like it was your name... so everybody else did too. It took me years to find out your actual name.

You took me into your home and loved me like I was yours long before we knew how to verbally communicate with each other. You took Lifa into your home and loved him before I did.

I’m an aunt! I have a niece! My sister really put me through it this week by laboring for 30 hours on the other side of the world from me. But I am thrilled to announce the arrival of the most precious baby girl on the planet, Evangeline JoAnn Branham. Literal perfection.

I want to tell you about a short series of small events that have turned into something of epic proportions. A couple of weeks ago, Chris’ visa renewal application was denied. It felt like a step far, far, farrrrr away from the prayers we’ve been praying for our family’s documentation for the last three years.

Is there anyone else out there who thrives on schedule, rhythm and routine?

Does anybody live their best life within some good old fashioned structure?

And then 2020 happened!?!

It’s not that I’m anal or hyper-organized. (You could ask my husband about that... but don’t.) But I do thrive on order. One of the ways I care for my family is by bringing order to our home.

If you have been a friend of the Ladd family for long, you probably know about our visa issues. If you’re new here, HI!!! We’re so glad you’re here! The short version: My volunteer visa has been stuck in various pipes of the legal system for years. Yes, years. Because of that, neither of our children have birth certificates, passports or the documents they need to travel or have basic rights. Chris has been the only one able to travel for the last 4 1/2 years and has only been to America for a few short days during that time to officiate his brother’s wedding.