Mennonites in Belize

      Shalom Camp is a neat camping spot in the Pacific Heights area of Mountain Pine Ridge. Surrounded by groves of pine trees, sparse grass and mountain ferns, and with weather at a perfect 70°F during this time of the year, it was the ideal place for a weekend of fun and fellowship. Some of the wealthier Mennonite families in Spanish Lookout have built lodges and private cabins at various places up in the mountains where the weather is much cooler and the setting more isolated.     We were invited to join a Mennonite church from the Cayo District who had reserved the camp for the weekend. It was a memorable occasion, with plenty of laughter, not much preaching, lots of eating, hiking, swimming, and climbing steep, almost 90 degree trails with fourwheeler bikes. I learned more facts about this particular Mennonite church as well as established new friendships. The Kleine Gemeinde Mennonites from Spanish Lookout had a 2-story house on top of this cement bu...

  Old Colony Mennonites assisted in rescuing cattle stranded by rising floodwaters as a result of Hurricanes Eta and Iota. Photo: Channel 5, November 2020   Sixty years ago on October 27, 1961, shortly after the first Russian Mennonite immigrants from Mexico arrived in Belize, the country's biggest town was battered by Hurricane Hattie, a Category 5 cyclone. Hundreds died both from the hurricane and the unsanitary conditions left behind by the floodwaters. An Amish Mennonite organization in the US sent a group of volunteers to Belize City to assist in rebuilding and to begin a mission outreach. Thus a second branch of the Mennonite faith laid its roots in Belize.     Hurricane Hattie levelled a big part of Belize City in 1961.    Last year, on November 4, Hurricane Eta landed on Nicaragua as a Category 4 cyclone. Due to Nicaragua's authoritarian government, very little was published on the state-controlled media. But what was never aired by that country's s...

      Jake Michaels, a journalist who photographed the Old Colony Mennonites of northern Belize, has released his photo book. See  video  above. Or click  here to view more up close photos of the Old Colony lifestyle.                                           A. Mendoza                                           

       Reimer's Service Center  in Spanish Lookout, locally referred to as "the Esso gas station", is holding a three-day sale this week, Nov. 25 to 27th. Not only do they deal with tires and oil change, they are also one of the best sources for electrical supplies and vehicle lights as well as a large selection of nuts and bolts. You may contact them via the phone number below or by clicking the link above. Tell: 823-0122                                      A. Mendoza

Spanish Lookout Schönthal Church , a Kleine Gemeinde congregation in Spanish Lookout     If anything, COVID-19 has helped us appreciate technology. You no longer need to walk in and go through the awkward moments of shaking hands with strangers, hoping the usher will  not  point out a seat at the front of the church, wondering how many eyes are boring into the back of your head. But perhaps you're one of those socially active persons who simply loves meeting strangers and creating new friendships and can hardly wait for church to be over so that you can begin. Thanks to COVID, no matter what your outlook is on visiting new churches, the fact is that attending some Mennonite churches can now be done with the touch of a finger. See below (and above) at the list of various Mennonite congregations in Spanish Lookout. From the conservative Kleine Gemeinde singing acapella from their benches to the modern and liberal ones who sway to the music of guitars and electronic sys...

      See above the  video of the funeral service in Spanish Lookout for Andres and Martha Penner, the couple that perished in the  accident one week ago. They leave behind three little children.   Andres Penner was a resident of Spanish Lookout, of the Kleine Gemeinde church. His wife was from southern Belize, of the indigenous Maya people.                                         A. Mendoza

    It was early in the morning yesterday when we entered Spanish Lookout at the southern end, on our way to work. We observed a long flatbed trailer full of crates containing live but spent breeder hens being towed into the yard of the Hen Depot, a center for hen sales created after an avian influenza severely affected the chicken industry in Spanish Lookout some years ago. As a result of biosecurity measures, the Mennonite farmers designated this place as the official outlet for selling spent laying hens and breeder hens. Previously customers could drive up to the farmer's yard and purchase spent hens from the owner; the biggest customers are Guatemalans who cart them over the border by truck loads. We discussed the hens on the trailer then forgot about the subject, never imagining that the Hen Depot would later be the target of an armed robbery.   It was around 3 in the afternoon when we heard the Mennonite manager at the Hen Depot was robbed of around $17,000 in cash....

    Hummingbird Distributors is a hardware, building supply and shopping center located in the town of Dangriga, known as one of the largest  Garifuna communities in the country. The company, which is Mennonite-owned and managed by a family from Spanish Lookout, is currently holding their "Customer Appreciation Day" event where various items and name brands are on discount. So if you live in the vicinity and are interested in taking advantage of these great deals, head over to George Price Drive and check them out. The event ends on Thursday, the 18th. Interestingly their sale event coincides with the 19th of November, a national holiday known as "Garifuna Settlement Day", the date when the first Garifuna landed on the shores of Belize. Click the link above for more info on the festivals and parades associated with this holiday.    You may contact Hummingbird Distributors at 501-522-3531 or check them out  here .             ...

     Here is a  video of a teaching service at Gnadenfeld Church, a Kleine Gemeinde congregation in Spanish Lookout. The main speaker is from another branch of Mennonites officially known as Conservative . Like I mentioned in an earlier  article , Kleine Gemeinde, Beachy, and Conservative Mennonites sometimes get together for conferences and teaching sessions although separated on the finer details of doctrinal application and racial acceptance.   The topic presented by English speaker Craig Steiner is on the issue of using technology in a wise and godly way. While Kleine Gemeinde services are normally conducted in Plautdietsch, this one was done in English. Click here for the  video .                                            A. Mendoza

      See above a very short educational  video on how the Mennonites have impacted Belize's economy.                                     A. Mendoza

      One of the Spanish Lookout companies that has tucked itself into every corner of Belize and even southern Mexico is the tire shop and automotive dealer, Caribbean Tires. Certainly much more than just a tire supply store, they also carry motorcycles, autos, and power tools. The company is currently holding their annual sale days, each weekend at a different town. This weekend the event was in the north in Orange Walk, next weekend it will be in Spanish Lookout (Nov. 19 to 20), and so on. Special discounts on specific tire brands, motorcycle raffles, and free food for customers are part of the events.   Aerial view of Caribbean Tire in Spanish Lookout                             A. Mendoza

  Edit: A married couple, residents of Spanish Lookout, have died as a result of a car accident that happened last week Wednesday late in the afternoon. They were inside an SUV, heading home from having picked up relatives at the international airport, when they collided with a white pickup truck. Both of them were on life support for a day or two but sadly did not survive. Your prayers would be tremendously appreciated since they leave behind three little children. The other Mennonite passengers in the SUV sustained varying degrees of injuries; some of them had broken arms and legs and as far as I know it appears they will recover. The rest of the victims in the SUV have been released from the hospital according to the update I received. I do not know much about the driver of the white pickup except that the person was an older male.   As more Belizeans are giving in and receiving the vaccine...yes, even some Mennonites...the government is beginning to slowly lift restriction...

      Just two more branches in the endless maze of Mennonite churches and yet, after having studied their doctrines and attended their services, I realize that the Church of God in Christ (aka Holdeman church) and the Conservative Mennonites have much more in common than they care to admit.   I have been attending a Conservative Mennonite church nearby and becoming acquainted with various members from different congregations across the country in an effort to learn more about the Conservative and Beachy Amish beliefs. Having grown up in the Holdeman church, I was taught to view them with caution. Whenever the Holdeman ministers and I would get into doctrinal discussions (which happened often and ended up with me on the losing end) and I would bring up the Conservative Mennonite church, they warned me that I should be extremely cautious; I was already a member of "the one true church", therefore there was no reason for me to be interested in other Mennonite chur...