Mustard Seed Communities Inc

Dear Bill and Melinda,

Face the face that faces you'This is the challenge of Mustard Seed.

Mustard Seed Communities is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that began in 1978 serving the impoverished community of Kingston, Jamaica, as a home for abandoned and disabled children. Over the last 38 years MSC has greatly expanded and now serves in FOUR countries (Jamaica, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, and Dominican republic). We care for over 600 children who belong to the most vulnerable, forgotten, and marginalized groups of society. The members of our communities range from the ages of 6 months to 50 years old. They have a variety of physical, and mental illnesses such as: Down's syndrome, failure to thrive, cerebral palsy, hydrocephaly, autism, microcephaly, blindness, and mental illness. These children come to MSC from incredibly difficult living conditions. MSC aims to improve the economic, social and spiritual conditions for all of the children they care for and to provide a safe loving home for them to live.
The small seed planted nearly 40 years ago to serve a handful of abandoned children on the streets of Jamaica, now provides a place of hope and dignity for hundreds of people. Children and adults with HIV/AIDS, and young mothers in crisis find shelter and love in our residential care programs. Entire communities find empowerment through sharing and training programs that combat malnutrition, improve access to education, and provide pathways out of poverty.
I have served MSC for 5 years and have visited over 7 orphanages in both Jamaica and Nicaragua. The need is great there! Even after so many visits, it is still so difficult to put into words the beauty among the devastation that I witness. The children we serve at MSC were once cast away, but are now living in beautiful homes where they have the chance to heal and receive the loving care they so desperately need and deserve. Over the years I have worked to transform orphanages from termite infested wooden structures to sturdy cinder block homes. I have held the hand of a boy named Wilfredo while he took his first steps without his legs set in casts for the first time in his life. He was 12! I have witnessed transformation of body, mind, soul and spirit.
It never ceases to amaze me how much love you receive from just a smile. I always receive so much more than I give.

Mustard Seed's goal is to provide a safe, healthy, loving environment for every child and to ensure that they will never again be abandoned, overlooked or rejected. Once a child becomes a part of the MSC family they are FOreVER a Mustard Seed child. These children, despite their suffering, have somehow pierced the meaning of true joy and that is a priceless gift imparted to all who experience them. Your gift will change their lives forever!
Please know that Missionaries pay for 100% of their travel expenses which means 100% of your donation will go directly to the MSC children.

If you would like to learn more about Mustard Seed, please visit their website at go.mustardseed.com/goto/theresamartin.

https://goo.gl/photos/QXuCFXRD8HYTqD9n9

God Bless,
Theresa Martin

Mustard Seed Communities is an amazing, Christian organization that has been around since the late 1970's, and remains under the faith-filled direction of its founder, Msgr. Gregory Ramkissoon. It more than lives up to its motto of "Caring, Sharing, and Training," in it's primary role as a loving "home" to some of the most vulnerable and marginalized children, teens, and adults of the societies it serves - which includes sites in Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Zimbabwe.

I have been supporting this organization in various ways for over the past 10 years - from initially being a volunteer and group leader of lay and professional mission and study abroad teams, to being a donor, and for the past five years, serving as an integral part of the educational process for Mustard Seed's caregivers - it has become a second home to me...my family away from home.

The organization is in need of financial donations, medical and everyday life supplies, along with volunteers. Everyone who has ever gone there with me has found the experience very rewarding. Having been going there for over 10 years, I have been able to see the fruits of our labors and financial/other donations first hand being applied where needed most - for the care of its residents and the mission facilities they call home.

Please see www.mustardseed.com to learn more, and why not go there and see this amazing mission for yourself!