Guest Blog: Hands and Feet to Zambia

Welcome back to The Naptime Bloggers!  It's Sunday again, and we have another great guest blog for you!

Enjoy!

April Muller currently lives in eastern Washington but grew up in southern California, she still loves the beach and warm weather but now she gets to enjoy four seasons. She is a wife of 11 years and a stay at home mom of 3 beautiful boys. She loves all children and has a special place in her heart for "the least of these" around the world. She is excited to live this out and get her hands a little dirty as she goes to an orphanage and show the children there that they are deeply loved. 

I grew up with parents who love to travel. And they always took me and my two sisters with them. It was much cheaper then and my mom ended up working for an airline which made travel even more affordable. We traveled to Australia, Greece and England all on separate trips. I've also had the privilege of visiting and working at a couple orphanages in Mexico. There was one little a girl I came to adore. I would have taken her home with me if I wasn't a single college student living in a dorm room. But it was from this that I've been given a broad world view. Politics change from country to country but people are pretty much the same. We all have the same needs for food, shelter and love.
I also grew up in a compassionate home. I remember as a young girl sending money to World Vision to help a child who was less fortunate. I also grew up in church and loved listening to missionaries tell about their trips abroad, Africa included.
I've always wanted to go to Africa. I'm sure as a young child I was drawn by the animals of the safari. But when I think of Africa its not the animals that come to mind or the beautiful landscape, its the poverty, the lack of medical care and the orphans. We are not all called to adopt but we are all called to care for orphans. I have several friends who have adopted a child or are in the process of adopting. I have been trying to support them as its a long and financially stressful journey.
One friend is in Zambia now. They require a 3 month fostering period before an adoption can be finalized. Just before she left she was agonizing over the long journey and asked for people to come.
That's when I instinctively said "I'd love to!" and immediately reality set in and said "there's no way!" I am a stay at home mom of three busy boys and the wife of an engineer and master's degree student. How could they live without me?? It was a great opportunity to support my friend and care for the children at the orphanage where she is staying. So I asked my husband anway, certain of his response. And to my surprise, he answered with a "yes", as long as I can come up with the money to go. I must be dreaming.

The very next day we had "Orphan Sunday". The Bible tells us several times to care for orphans. It felt like confirmation to go. Since then, I've been soul searching. I didn't seek out this trip. It was offered to me. Was that enough reason to go? Probably.
Being a mom to my boys is everything to me. I want to be a positive example to them. I want to teach them to love everyone and especially to care for the less fortunate, not just the ones in our neighborhood but around the world. We are all God's children. We all have value. I'm excited to go to Zambia and explain to my kids why I am going. And instead of telling them to love people, showing them.

As I think about the orphans, I think about how little human contact they receive. Even the most amazing care givers cannot replace the time and attention a mom can give. Many infants and toddlers remain in a crib for most of the day where they are fed and changed.

My youngest, age 3, was recently diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. He was born with a cleft palate so he has always been a little bit different. The diagnoses he has received since only explain what we were already seeing. SPD is a neurological disorder. It affects the way a person translates what their senses receive. It is different for every child. For him, one of his sensory issues is that he needs extra sensory input to know where his body is. It's called proprioceptive disorder. If he can't see his body parts he doesn't know where they are unless he has extra sensory input. For instance, for his second birthday we bought him a toddler slide. It was months before he could just go up the ladder by himself! It also affects muscle coordination. The next hurdle for the slide was to get his body on top of the slide with his feet facing forward.He also loves to hug. This is where he gets lots of sensory input. He doesn't just hug his family members and people he knows. He hugs just about everyone he sees. One day recently we were at a local hospital. He hugged a nurse. It's awkward when he hugs strangers but sometimes, most of the time, it's well received. This was one of those times. The nurse appreciated the hug. In an attempt to lighten the awkwardness I offered that we could all use more hugs, to which she agreed. It got me thinking that my sweet boy has a gift. And he gladly gives it to anyone willing to receive it, the gift of touch, the gift of human contact.This is one of those basic human needs and one that every orphan needs more of. With this revelation, I am thrilled to go to Zambia and hug every child I see. I plan to help out at the orphanage wherever there is need but my personal priority is to hold as many babies as I can and give them for that moment the human contact they so desperately need.

You can visit April's fundraiser page here:

 Fundraiser page. 

 And you can bid on auction items, to help her raise funds to Zambia here as well:
Facebook Page

As always, we look forward to seeing you around this week, and we would love to hear from you!  Feel free to contact us via comments, facebook, twitter, pinterest, or e-mail!