Mennonites in Belize

   Sometime in the near future, some adjustments will be carried out on my blog. One of them is removing the ads from the home page for cleaner and smoother reading. Another is deleting...   Yes, I mentioned in a recent article about how it seemed the last link between the Holdeman church and me had been removed. Based on that and other circumstances, I will proceed to delete some references to the Holdemans. A few articles, some pictures, links, and videos.   I will also be creating separate pages for each Mennonite church group to provide easier access to such info instead of digging through the main blog.   Lastly, this blog is based on the Blogger platform which is quite limited. Hence a new platform will be acquired towards the end of this year. View full blog                                             A. Mendoza

     A Holdeman Mennonite church and school Four hundred years ago Shakespeare wondered, "What's in a name?" After all, it is our focus on the object that distinguishes it, not the letters or words which refer to it. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" .   While I admire Shakespeare, the time has come to deviate from his philosophy and instead carve out our own.   It commenced when the board of the private Mennonite school which our daughter attended suddenly announced that they were not planning on re-opening the coming school term. Nor was there any indication of when it would be in operation again. A rather hard blow for us since the time for student registration in other schools was nearly past.   A few years ago a blog reader reached out to me about the schools available in and around Spanish Lookout. I endeavored my utmost to assist him, without the remotest idea that we would be in his shoes in the ne...

      How do you react when a link to your past is no more? When a person, or place, or object, or institution impacted you so profoundly that even when you drift away on life's no return road, you glance over your shoulder just to assure yourself it's still there? Such was the case with my childhood school. Founded in the mid-1990's, constructed of gray cinder block with sheet metal roofing, wooden shutters and a concrete floor, this plain one-room church-administered Mennonite school was the place where I experienced bullying for at least two years, the place where I realized I was visually impaired, where I was firmly taught conservative values and strict adherence to church doctrines, yet silently wondered about some of the religious practices, where the teacher always joined us on the playground and made sure everyone played together. My eight grades were spent here, later on my daughter was enrolled here. Although I left the traditional church many years ago, in my ...