Youth Reunion in Billywhite

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 The tiny, dusty village of Billywhite, 8 miles south of Spanish Lookout, is home to a small congregation of Holdeman Mennonites (Church of God in Christ, Mennonite). Well, today was the culmination of a 3-day youth gathering from youth members from different parts of Central America and the Caribbean, including some from the US and Canada. They all came together on Thursday evening, had religious and fun activities together every day until Saturday evening, and by Sunday night many were already packing up to leave.
  The Sunday service is open for anyone and everyone to attend. First there were some congregational songs, then group songs by various youth members, a sermon, more singing, and then we were dismissed for the noon meal, which consisted of the usual rice and beans, stew chicken, and fried plantains.
  They had an afternoon program too, but I did not remain for that. I did notice though, that there were several Kleine Gemeinde Mennonite visitors from Spanish Lookout and some local non-Mennonite villagers.
  Normally they sit separately, the men on the right and the women on the left, but on large gatherings such as this they abandon protocol and the ushers simply cram people wherever there is space. A tent was set up outside to accommodate more visitors, but it was 105*F at 10:30 in the morning. Nearly everyone had a wet shirt or blouse, and the fans weren't helping much either. The church sits right beside the main unpaved road, so dust and smoke floated everywhere. In spite of this it looked like most of them were thoroughly enjoying themselves.






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