![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC09914-1024x683.jpg\")
April matches that description perfectly. Dictionary.com defines \u201cangel\u201d as a\u00a0person with qualities generally attributed to an angel, such as beauty, purity, or kindliness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe touches everybody\u2019s heart and everything she comes in contact with,\u201d said Breand Mitchell, April\u2019s older sister. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
April\u2019s optimism and life outlook are less common than many of us possess. Today\u2019s news headlines and circumstances do nothing to dim her light. Her sister said she\u2019s kind and loving and never meets a stranger.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe always looks for the better side of things and never gets discouraged. Her outlook on life is so much bigger than I can picture.\u00a0If we could love the way she loves, the world would be a different place,\u201d said Breand.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
April, who always says that the truth will set you free, may understand the wisdom of her words more than others realize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cApril says it all the time. She wants to tell the truth no matter what,\u201d her sister said. \u201cAnd because of all she\u2019s taught me, I can interact well with others with special needs. So many people love her and are able to love others with special needs because of her, including my husband.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Breand is proud to be identified as April\u2019s sister, and the sisters are fiercely protective of one another. April regularly tells Breand\u2019s husband to be nice to her sister, and Breand is on call anytime April needs her \u2014 always has been. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Breand said, \u201cI got in trouble on the bus because older kids were making fun of April, so I got up in their faces and actually punched\u00a0one of them. But I treated her just like a normal sister growing up. I was mean to her, and I\u2019d chase her around and take her toys away from her. April was very mean to me, too, and definitely took up for herself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n April lives a highly independent life and thrives on routine, thanks to the support of her mother and sister and training at the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe gets herself up, fixes her breakfast, and rides the transportation van to work and back, pretty much living her own life while we\u2019re both working,\u201d said Breand, who lives less than a half mile from her mom and sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s Aunt April to Breand\u2019s four daughters, a job she takes very seriously and loves dearly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe would sit down in her little glider chair and hold them, rock them, and sing to them. Growing up around her has taught my children not to treat [people who have special needs] any differently,\u201d said Breand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n April\u2019s deeply connected spiritually as if she has a direct connection to heaven. Her light shines even brighter when she prays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her mom said, \u201cWhat she says is pure and comes from the heart. She prays over us, and you know God is right there. When she testifies in church, you know that what she says is true, and you get so encouraged. It\u2019s a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n April\u2019s love, outlook, and honesty brighten the lives of everyone in her path. Should we expect any less from an angel on earth? GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ALTHOUGH THE first students won\u2019t arrive for several more hours, the lunchroom at Riverside Christian Academy (RCA) is buzzing with activity. Pots and pans clang, cans are opened and produce is sorted as the day\u2019s menu begins to take shape. The time for the first classes quickly arrives, and everything is ready and waiting. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC09769-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC09696-1024x683.jpg\")