February 9th, 2012

Mustard Tree Missions (MTM) was founded and is directed by Pastor Rick Burton of Meridian, MS.  Originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area, Rick moved south almost 40 years ago.  He & his wife, Lokey, now live in Meridian, MS where he manages the MTM Bargain Center.

Rick  is ordained by Liberty Fellowship of Pastors and Ministers.

MTM has a Board of Advisors composed of pastors, missionaries and lay leaders.

MTM’s  Venezuelan Director is Rubén Turtulici, M.Ed. of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Rubén is also the  President of the Venezuelan branch of MTM, Fundación Árbol de Mostaza (Fundamost).

Born in Maracaibo on March 21, 1978, Rubén has lived there his entire life. He became a Christian at the age of 10 when he heard the gospel at the funeral of a beloved uncle.  Since then he has served in the church in many different areas including praise and worship, missions, and Christian education.

In July 2009 he was ordained by Liberty Fellowship of Churches and Ministers.

On April 16, 2011 he married Melyber Rivero of Maracaibo.

 

Rubén holds a Bachelors Degree in Modern Languages from Zulia University and a Master’s Degree in International Education from Framingham State College. He is fluent in 4 languages – Spanish, English, French and Italian.  After teaching a year in France, he returned to his home town of Maracaibo where he taught ESL (English as a Second Language) and Foreign Languages for five years at Escuela Bella Vista international school. In 2009 he was promoted to be the school’s Librarian and Resource Manager. In August of 2011, he will begin teaching courses for Cambridge University in Maracaibo through the British Council. These courses are offered to teachers working on post-graduate degrees in Applied Linguistics, a field that studies how languages are learned and taught. It deals with language as the means of communication and is related to literacy, second language acquisition and bilingualism.

In 2011, Rubén taught a workshop at the annual VANAS (Venezuelan Association of North American Schools) Teachers’ Conference and also a seminar held by “Luz in L.U.Z.,” a Christian organization at the University of Zulia.  His teaching empasizes seeing students as potential leaders and trying to teach them where they are in a rapidly changing society. He also has teachings on Information Literacy, Communication and Emotional Intelligence. These messages can be presented either as an extended series or a single lecture and easily adapted to address teachers, pastors or anyone in any type of leadership or teaching role.

During Rubén’s first visit to Mississippi in 2009, he was privileged to speak at a Choctaw church in Philadelphia, Spirit of Life Christian Center. This video contains excerpts from that sermon:

http://www.vimeo.com/9216130

Rubén Turtulici’s sermon delivered at Charity Chapel, Pensacola, Florida during the FUNDAMOST trip to the USA:

http://www.vimeo.com/14096837