Mennonites in Belize

    A brief look at the Mennonite crop planting and machinery                                   Crop Farming   The Kleine Gemeinde of Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek were and still are the biggest and most known of the Mennonite big-time crop farmers. There are also those who have left the KG and belong to a liberal church but still remained farmers and are doing large-scale crop planting. The biggest fields are actually not all within the community, but are scattered around the country, north, south, east and west.   Corn, beans, and rice have always been the main crops. A variety of beans are grown here: soybeans, black beans, kidney beans, and the much smaller red beans. Milo (sorghum) is sometimes planted too. The wives will often grow their own backyard garden vegetables.   The Old Colony Mennonites of northern Belize also do large-scale crop farming and have their ...

                       Typically, Sunday is spent at church in the mornings, and then with close family or friends after lunch. Invitations to each other's homes for meals are common among some Mennonite groups. The regular daily chores are carried out but besides that no profit labor is done on Sundays. The liberal churches such as EMMC, FOL and other types allow their members to do other stuff such as sightseeing, trail bike riding, canoeing, holding sport competitions, etc., while the majority of the more conservative ones like the Beachy Amish, Holdeman, and Conservative view such things as disrespectful of the day of rest and preferr to spend Sundays at home or relaxing with friends. Quiet games are allowed such as card games, backyard basketball and bike riding. The 2 ultra-conservative groups, Old Colony from northern Belize and the Old Order from south of Belmopan have "boring" Sundays according to some of the young...

   So far, no Mennonites own saloons. Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek have restaurants, but no alcoholic beverages are allowed to be sold in any store inside the community. Many liberal Mennonites see nothing wrong with a beer now and then and keep a few in the refrigerator but they do draw the line at tobacco; the wayward Kleine Gemeinde men also drink but more out of addiction than as a treat. But none of them are allowed to turn beer into a business within the community. Also, if the drinking becomes a problem that affects his family as in abusive behavoiur, the Kleine Gemeinde elders will step in and order him to leave the community. Old Colony Mennonites frequent the liquor stores out of personal necessity. Alcohol and tobacco are consumed by old and young alike, including some of the women, though within the church district they are not allowed to have a saloon. The drinking problem has caused broken homes and wounded children, emotionally and physically. Old Order (Hoove...

  This is the most interesting subject ever. You know why???  Because yeah, we all have sins, so there's absolutely no need to write about theirs. Chapter Closed.

  Of course, all of them are spiritual. False. Actually none of them really are. Also false.   The motto of "solo Scrittora" has long been forgotten by many of them. While some did have their practices built upon the Bible centuries ago, they are now just traditions. Yet they all claim to be following the Bible. Decide for yourself which ones are.   Now I'm not judging them or am writing this to condemn any of them. I'm writing from a spiritual viewpoint.   The Old Colonists are the least spiritual. Strict upholding of church rules is equated with salvation. Alcohol and tobacco are accepted as long as the consumer controls himself. Men have been known to cruelly whip their children and abuse their wives. In some cases, the police have become involved. The Bible is a book full of mistery to these Mennonites.   The Old Order (Hoover) are more spiritually minded; they use the Bible in their homes and churches and many actually believe in the new birth and adher...

  No doubt many people wonder why the Mennonite religion doesn't have its own Bible with the words "Mennonite Version" or "to be used by all Mennonites". They just don't. For the same reason faithful members of other Protestant churches, e.g., Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostals don't mingle; so also the different branches (and sub-divisions of each branch) of Mennonites stay away from each other's beliefs. The word Mennonite is like using the word Protestant to describe all the churches that are not Catholic. You would think that since they are all anti-Catholic, they should all use the same Bible, right. But they don't. Mennonites have gone the way of their Protestant brothers the Adventists, Lutherans, Nazarenes, etc. and use whichever Bible translation is approved by their leader or by their general assembly. If you didn't agree, then maybe it's time to join another church or start your own. As easy as that.  True, the Mennonite...

  Old Order (Hoover) Mennonites use the Martin Luther German translation, as do the Old Colonists. The Old Colonists stick to German Bibles but the Old Order willingly use the KJV and NLV.   Kliene Gemeinde also use the Luther Bible though far less often than before. Usually only the older ones read it and it is used in ceremonies. However for personal and at home use the English original KJV and NKJV are preferred; many of the youngsters can fluently read High German but for out loud reading, Biblical recitations and at school,  they switch to English versions. Other modern versions are also used such as the NIV, NLT, and ASV. They don't have an agreed version to be used in English.   The Holdemans and Beachy mainly use the KJV, with the Beachy being more tolerant of other modern versions than the Holdemans who strongly advice and encourage the use of the original KJV. The New KJV and NLT are used too but mostly for personal use and cautiously at that. Ministers w...

  The Mennonites of Spanish Lookout have been used to fireworks held by the EMMC church on the evening of December 31st. Although enjoyed by all kinds of Mennonites and villages surrounding Spanish Lookout, it is only the EMMC church that displays them. By far the most liberal church among all the Mennonites of Belize, it's members willingly donate money, yet the amount is not the same every year so one time the display might be lengthy and breathtaking while the following year only a short and small display will be held. While many in other churches in Spanish Lookout don't approve of burning more than $10,000 in a few minutes, they certainly turn out en masse to view the fireworks. After all, it's not their wallets, it's only those of EMMC members.  Below is the link to the video.