Mustard Tree Missions, Inc.
©2017
“...the birds of the air will come and nest in its branches.”
~ Matt. 13:32
COVID-19 IN VENEZUELA
March 23, 2020 - Maracaibo, between a rock and a hard place.
Two days before the Maduro's administration put into place what
they called "social quarantine" gas stations in Maracaibo were
already empty.
In an country where the minimum monthly salary is $4 and 90% of
the population makes between $5 and $10 per month, and most
people have an informal job, the large majority of the population
makes daily what they're going to put on their tables to eat that day.
Quarantine is not easy. This is not a country where you can go buy at
the supermarket as many rolls of toilet paper as you want. First,
because there are not enough rolls of paper, and secondly because
no one can afford that.
The government also promised to provide fuel for health personnel
which hasn't happened. Most doctors can't get to their places of
work. Hospitals are lacking the most basic supplies, and when I say
basic I mean … water.
No one knows how much longer people will be able to stay locked in.
Ruben Turtulici
Venezuela is on lockdown and there is no gasoline.
Thanks to generous donors, we were able to provide medical gloves and
masks for doctors in several hospitals in the Maracaibo area in
preparation to receive Coronavirus patients.
JANUARY 19, 2021 - NEWS FLASH -
Rubén Turtulici, our Director of Missions and President of FUNDAMOST, has moved to Dubai, UAE.
He has appointed José Andrade as his Assistant Director of Missions in Maracaibo.
Update: as of August, 2022, José is also living in Dubai, UAE.
March 19, 2021
Let us introduce you to our friend Juan Grateron, who we have known many years. Juan is the founder and director of Fundación
Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love Foundation) serving children, older adults, and people in vulnerable conditions with needed food
and clothing since 2016.
They are now serving meals twice a week to 40-60 children in the small urban community of
El Tostao in west Barquisimeto, Venezuela as well as handing out sandwiches to hungry
people wherever there is a need.
They are working on increasing the children’s feeding program to every day. And to help
generate income for the foundation, they will also be selling food at prices below those in
supermarkets. This will help the ministry become more self-sustaining and also help those
who purchase the food at better prices.
They have also begun taking arepas and sandwiches to people at the Central Hospital of Barquisimeto. Many patients come from other
states to this hospital and their relatives have no where to spend the nights. In Juan's words, "On the outskirts of this hospital, hundreds of
relatives of patients spend the night on the sidewalks, because most of them are people from villages far from the city, people without
resources to pay for a hotel room, and they are not allowed to stay overnight inside the hospital. These people suffer the nightly onslaught
of the weather and the pain of hunger. We want to help them!" He is planning to taking food, blankets and medical supplies (which
patients in Venezuelan hospitals have to provide for themselves) to the Central Hospital early in the morning at least three times a week.
Juan and his family have also begun handing out food to people waiting in line to get gas. After spending 2 nights and 3 days in line for
gas, he knows first hand how hard it is. Juan, his wife Maria, and sister Rebecca, find opportunities to show God’s love wherever they go!
To maintain this ministry, Juan needs to purchase items such as flour, sugar, ham and margarine to prepare more meals for the children
and to give out to the people at the hospital and on the streets. He also wants to buy enoug to sell to generate funds so the ministry can
become more self-sustaining.
If you would like to help Juan feed these children and families who are in such great need, pease donate via the PayPal button at the top
of this page.
Handing out food outside the
Central Hospital.
The latest news on what MTM is doing to help
in Venezuela.
August 2021 - Juan Grateron,
founder and director of Fundación Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love Foundation),
continues to feed
hungry children in and around the city of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. In June he visited the rural neighborhood of La
Sabila where he grew up and found it devastated by a decade of drug wars. 70% of the homes have been destroyed.
(See his YouTube video: https://youtu.be/2nB88c3EEBg) A small church there is feeding children who live close by
and teaching them the love of Jesus. Juan and his wife, Maria, take groceries to them once a week so they can
continue their ministry to these precious children. Mustard Tree is sending funds to Juan to help him buy food to take
out to the church in La Sabila.
Below are some of the photos he has sent us from this feeding program.
October 2021
We are excited to add Juan Grateron to our MTM team as our representative in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Juan is the
founder and director of Fundación Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love Foundation) and we have partnered with his foundation
in ministering to
the most needy in his city and surrounding communities.
For the last several months Juan and his wife, Maria, have been taking food to the poor community of La Sabila where
a local church is operating a weekly children’s feeding program. Here are some of his most recent photos.
Click here to read Juan’s letter explaining his foundation and the vision God has given him for his community.
Check out the Foundation’s Facebook page for more photos and lots of great videos: https://www.facebook.com/fundgotasdeamor/
And the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB-3vXZbePkfvKtyFXg_lqw
Any donations received and marked “For Juan” will go to buy food for the feeding programs that Juan is helping.
January 2022 - Juan and his foundation Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love) continue to minister to the needs of the children in the community
of La Sabila outside Barquisimeto, Venezuela. They have been helping a church there feed 70-80 children each week. They were recently
blessed with financial resources to buy Children’s Bibles and teaching materials for the kids. MTM is honored to be able to help with this
ministry. Click here to see Juan’s video on what they’re doing.
September 2022 - Juan continues to supply food to the children’s feeding program in La Sabila as well as delivering Bibles and Christian
training materials to various churches.
News
News
COVID-19 IN VENEZUELA
March 23, 2020 - Maracaibo, between a rock and a hard
place.
Two days before the Maduro's administration put into place
what they called "social quarantine" gas stations in Maracaibo
were already empty.
In an country where the minimum monthly salary is $4 and 90%
of the population makes between $5 and $10 per month, and
most people have an informal job, the large majority of the
population makes daily what they're going to put on their tables
to eat that day.
Quarantine is not easy. This is not a country where you can go
buy at the supermarket as many rolls of toilet paper as you
want. First, because there are not enough rolls of paper, and
secondly because no one can afford that.
The government also promised to provide fuel for health
personnel which hasn't happened. Most doctors can't get to
their places of work. Hospitals are lacking the most basic
supplies, and when I say basic I mean … water.
No one knows how much longer people will be able to stay
locked in.
Ruben Turtulici
Venezuela is on lockdown and there is no gasoline.
Thanks to generous donors, we were able to provide medical gloves
and masks for doctors in several hospitals in the Maracaibo area in
preparation to receive Coronavirus patients.
March 19, 2021
Let us introduce you to our friend Juan Grateron, who we have known many
years. Juan is the founder and director of
Fundación Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love
Foundation) serving children, older adults,
and people in vulnerable conditions with
needed food and clothing since 2016.
They are now serving meals twice a week
to 40-60 children in the small urban
community of El Tostao in west
Barquisimeto, Venezuela as well as
handing out sandwiches to hungry people
wherever there is a need.
They are working on increasing the
children’s feeding program to every day.
And to help
generate income for
the foundation, they
will also be selling
food at prices below
those in
supermarkets. This
will help the ministry
become more self-sustaining and also help those who purchase the food at
better prices.
They have also begun taking arepas and
sandwiches to people at the Central Hospital of
Barquisimeto. Many patients come from other
states to this hospital and their relatives have
no where to spend the nights. In Juan's words,
"On the outskirts of this hospital, hundreds of
relatives of patients spend the night on the
sidewalks, because most of them are people
from villages far from the city, people without
resources to pay for a hotel room, and they are
not allowed to stay overnight inside the
hospital. These people suffer the nightly
onslaught of the weather and the pain of
hunger. We want to help them!" He is planning
to taking food, blankets and medical supplies
(which patients in Venezuelan hospitals have
to provide for themselves) to the Central
Hospital early in the morning at least three
times a week.
Juan and his family have also begun
handing out food to people waiting in line to get
gas. After spending 2 nights and 3 days in line
for gas, he knows first hand how hard it is. Juan, his wife Maria, and sister
Rebecca, find opportunities to show God’s love wherever they go!
To maintain this ministry, Juan needs to purchase items such as flour,
sugar, ham and margarine to prepare more meals for the children and to give
out to the people at the hospital and on the streets. He also wants to buy
enoug to sell to generate funds so the ministry can become more self-
sustaining.
If you would like to help Juan feed these children and families who are in
such great need, pease donate via the PayPal button at the top of this page.
Handing out food
outside the Central
Hospital.
The latest news on what MTM is
doing to help
in Venezuela.
August 2021 - Juan Grateron,
founder and director of Fundación
Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love Foundation),
continues to
feed hungry children in and around the city of
Barquisimeto, Venezuela. In June he visited the
rural neighborhood of La Sabila where he grew up
and found it devastated by a decade of drug wars.
70% of the homes have been destroyed. (See his YouTube
video: https://youtu.be/2nB88c3EEBg) A small church there is
feeding children who live close by and teaching them the love
of Jesus. Juan and his wife, Maria, take groceries to them
once a week so they can continue their ministry to these
precious children. Mustard Tree is sending funds to Juan to
help him buy food to take out to the church in La Sabila.
Below are some of the photos he has sent us from this feeding
program.
October 2021
We are excited to add Juan Grateron to our MTM team
as our representative in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
Juan is the
founder and director of Fundación Gotas de Amor
(Drops of Love Foundation) and we have partnered with his
foundation
in ministering to the most needy in his city and
surrounding communities.
For the last several months Juan and his wife, Maria, have been
taking food to the poor community of La Sabila where a local
church is operating a weekly children’s feeding program. Here
are some of his most recent photos.
Click here to read Juan’s letter explaining his foundation and the vision God
has given him for his community.
Check out the Foundation’s Facebook page for more photos and lots of
great videos: https://www.facebook.com/fundgotasdeamor/
And the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB-
3vXZbePkfvKtyFXg_lqw
Any donations received and marked “For Juan” will go to buy
food for the feeding programs that Juan is helping.
January 2022 - Juan and his foundation Gotas de Amor (Drops
of Love) continue to minister to the needs of the children in the
community of La Sabila outside Barquisimeto, Venezuela. They
have been helping a church there feed 70-80 children each
week. They were recently blessed with financial resources to
buy Children’s Bibles and teaching materials for the kids. MTM
is honored to be able to help with this ministry. Click here to see
Juan’s video on what they’re doing.
September 2022 - Juan continues to supply food to the
children’s feeding program in La Sabila as well as delivering
Bibles and Christian training materials to various churches.
News
COVID-19 IN VENEZUELA
March 23, 2020 - Maracaibo, between a rock and a hard place.
Two days before the Maduro's administration put into place what they called "social quarantine" gas
stations in Maracaibo were already empty.
In an country where the minimum monthly salary is $4 and 90% of the population makes between $5
and $10 per month, and most people have an informal job, the large majority of the population makes
daily what they're going to put on their tables to eat that day.
Quarantine is not easy. This is not a country where you can go buy at the supermarket as many rolls of
toilet paper as you want. First, because there are not enough rolls of paper, and secondly because no
one can afford that.
The government also promised to provide fuel for health personnel which hasn't happened. Most
doctors can't get to their places of work. Hospitals are lacking the most basic supplies, and when I say
basic I mean … water.
No one knows how much longer people will be able to stay locked in.
Ruben Turtulici
Venezuela is on lockdown and there is
no gasoline.
Thanks to generous donors, we were able to provide
medical gloves and masks for doctors in several hospitals
in the Maracaibo area in preparation to receive
Coronavirus patients.
March 19, 2021
Let us introduce you to our friend Juan Grateron, who we have known
many years. Juan is the founder and director of Fundación Gotas de
Amor (Drops of Love Foundation) serving children, older adults, and
people in vulnerable conditions with needed food and clothing since
2016.
They are now serving meals twice a week to 40-60 children in the
small urban community of El Tostao in west Barquisimeto, Venezuela
as well as handing out sandwiches to hungry people wherever there
is a need.
They are working on increasing the children’s feeding program to every day. And to
help generate income for the foundation, they will also be selling food at prices
below those in supermarkets. This will help the ministry become more self-
sustaining and also help those who purchase the food
at better prices.
They have also begun taking arepas and sandwiches
to people at the Central Hospital of Barquisimeto. Many
patients come from other states to this hospital and
their relatives have no where to spend the nights. In
Juan's words, "On the outskirts of this hospital,
hundreds of relatives of patients spend the night on the
sidewalks, because most of them are people from
villages far from the city, people without resources
to pay for a hotel room, and they are not allowed to
stay overnight inside the hospital. These people
suffer the nightly onslaught of the weather and the
pain of hunger. We want to help them!" He is
planning to taking food, blankets and medical
supplies (which patients in Venezuelan hospitals
have to provide for themselves) to the Central
Hospital early in the morning at least three times a
week.
Juan and his family have also begun handing out
food to people waiting in line to get gas. After spending
2 nights and 3 days in line for gas, he knows first hand how hard it is. Juan, his wife
Maria, and sister Rebecca, find opportunities to show God’s love wherever they go!
To maintain this ministry, Juan needs to purchase items such as flour, sugar, ham
and margarine to prepare more meals for the children and to give out to the people
at the hospital and on the streets. He also wants to buy enoug to sell to generate
funds so the ministry can become more self-sustaining.
If you would like to help Juan feed these children and families who are in such great need, pease donate via the PayPal
button at the top of this page.
Handing out food outside
the Central Hospital.
The latest news on what MTM is doing to help in Venezuela.
August 2021 - Juan Grateron,
founder and director of Fundación Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love Foundation),
continues to feed hungry children in and around the city of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. In June he
visited the rural neighborhood of La Sabila where he grew up and found it
devastated by a decade of drug wars. 70% of the homes have been destroyed.
(See his YouTube video: https://youtu.be/2nB88c3EEBg) A small church there is
feeding children who live close by and teaching them the love of Jesus. Juan
and his wife, Maria, take groceries to them once a week so they can continue
their ministry to these precious children. Mustard Tree is sending funds to Juan
to help him buy food to take out to the church in La Sabila.
Below are some of the photos he has sent us from this feeding program.
October 2021
We are excited to add Juan Grateron to our MTM team as our representative in
Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Juan is the
founder and director of Fundación Gotas de Amor
(Drops of Love Foundation) and we have partnered with his foundation
in ministering to the most
needy in his city and surrounding communities.
For the last several months Juan and his wife, Maria, have been taking food to the
poor community of La Sabila where a local church is operating a weekly children’s
feeding program. Here are some of his most recent photos.
January 2022 - Juan and his foundation Gotas de Amor (Drops of Love) continue to minister to the
needs of the children in the community of La Sabila outside Barquisimeto, Venezuela. They have
been helping a church there feed 70-80 children each week. They were recently blessed with
financial resources to buy Children’s Bibles and teaching materials for the kids. MTM is honored to
be able to help with this ministry. Click here to see Juan’s video on what they’re doing.
September 2022 - Juan continues to supply food to the children’s feeding program in La
Sabila as well as delivering Bibles and Christian training materials to various churches.
JANUARY 19, 2021 - NEWS FLASH -
Rubén Turtulici, our Director of Missions and President of
FUNDAMOST, has moved to Dubai, UAE.
He has appointed José Andrade as his Assistant Director of Missions in
Maracaibo.
Update: as of August, 2022, José is also living in Dubai, UAE.
Click here to read Juan’s letter explaining his foundation and the vision God has given him for his community.
Check out the Foundation’s Facebook page for more photos and lots of great videos:
https://www.facebook.com/fundgotasdeamor/
And the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB-3vXZbePkfvKtyFXg_lqw
Any donations received and marked “For Juan” will go to buy food for the feeding programs that Juan
is helping.
Mustard Tree Missions, Inc.
©2017