In August 2015, I had the pleasure of volunteering for a mission trip in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

I and eight other members of St. Paul Inside the Walls Young Adult Ministry of Madison, N.J., embarked on a life-changing mission to assist at an orphanage called the Mustard Seed Communities (MSC). The current residents of MSC range in age from five to 26 years old. The vast majority of the residents are afflicted with cerebral palsy and are mostly non-verbal.

Many of the children were abandoned at the local hospitals when it was discovered that they had been born with a disability. I learned there were also children who were dropped off at MSC due to the financial constraints of the parents. What was painful to hear was that the parents of the children that were dropped off rarely visit their son or daughter if they even visit them at all.

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