Mennonites in Belize

    A section of the pedriatic ward.      The last few days before the 24th I was casually chatting with individuals from the Hoover Mennonites (often mistaken for Amish) from Springfield and Birdwalk in the central highlands, piecing together a narrative of what Christmas would be like in such a rigid and disciplined conservative community. You see even though they are much more conservative than their Old Colony cousins in the north, they are also much more open-minded in religion and tolerance of the cultures around them. I had been debating whether I should pay some friends a surprise visit to observe how they celebrate Christmas. They do not. Can you imagine? No special gatherings, no ham or turkey, no chicken BBQ, no tamales, no staying up until midnight on the 24th, no firecrackers, no special church service, no Christmas carolling, no handing out baskets of goodies, no rows of cookies decorated with red and green icing, no children's Christmas program, n...

      In a first ever, the government of Belize has issued a sales tax waiver (12.5%) for nearly all standard rated retail goods purchased on the 14,15 and 21, 22 of December, the last two weekends before Christmas with the exception of imported hams and turkeys which have no tax until the end of this month. Fuel, liquor, tobacco and certain other items will not be exempt. The aim of the waiver is to encourage Belizeans to do their purchasing at home instead of crossing over into Mexico or Guatemala during the Christmas season. However the waiver applies to retail sales only, not to wholesaler customers.   To explain all the do's and don'ts would require a whole article by itself so I will simply post a link where my local readers can inform themselves:  GST Waiver 2024   Merry Christmas... from the...  government. Mennonite News View Blog                                 A...

A sunset in Spanish Lookout The Iguana Creek Bridge in Blackman Eddy which gets flooded every year The farm roads of Spanish Lookout A creative and rustic hobby on display in Spanish Lookout A Christmas market Emergency responders at the scene of an accident, Center Ave. Spanish Lookout Reimer's Feed Mill on a rainy evening Flash flood on a rural road in Spanish Lookout Semitrucks crossing a flooded bridge Conservative Mennonites hold a singing service Mennonite News View Blog                                       A. Mendoza  

   There are readers wondering about my blog. To be honest I myself have been wondering about it too. As much as I enjoy freelance writing, family takes priority. And when you have a growing family the size of ours, you find very little spare time for hobbies but spend lots of time on habits. Such as coaxing a fussy 6 month old to go night night or trying to persuade a cranky 2 year old that beans are not yucky and comforting your 4 year old daughter because she cannot have a wedding just yet. Not to mention racking your brain with your school age children’s questions about sedimentary, legendary, and metamorphosis.   It requires patience, strength, and courage to wake up early in the morning to help my better half prepare lunches even though we two slept only 4 hours due to a certain little person who refused to eat according to the normal schedule. Then dropping into bed at 11pm after a day of sales, driving, carpentry and online work. All in a day’s work, of course. Bu...

      The storm is yet to touch land but it has already drenched central and north Belize with 15 to 20 inches of rain with certain areas most likely receiving more than that. Once again I remind my local readers to visit the following link for updates on the Iguana Creek crossing.    iguanacreekbridge.blogspot.com Currently the water is approximately 12 feet above the bridge and rising fast. This leaves Farmer's Express road as the only way in and out since the Baking Pot ferry is out of service and the Bullet Tree Road is also flooded at certain points. Mennonite News View Blog                                                                      A. Mendoza  

     As Tropical Storm Nadine approaches Belize, here's a link for my local readers to keep yourself updated on the main road into Spanish Lookout. iguanacreekbridge.blogspot.com   The other 3 unpaved roads: Farmer's Express via Roaring Creek, Bullet Tree Road via San Ignacio, Baking Pot Ferry via Central Farm are not always accessible either during extremely heavy rainfall, with Farmer's Express usually the most reliable one. View Blog Mennonite News                                   A. Mendoza

The view from our new location The sacrifices we parents undertake for our children often astound me. In my previous article I wrote about our children attending school at New Hope, a Kleine Gemeinde Mennonite mission school on the western edge of Spanish Lookout. Now that our children had been accepted the next big question was transportation. We debated between driving a total of 35 miles daily or sending them to school via bus. Not being a wealthy family, in the end we realized the most economical choice was to move closer to the school. Which we did and are now grateful for the proximity which enables us to be more readily available in case of an emergency and allows our children to be home at a much earlier hour, not to mention that my workplace is now also much closer.   Honestly we did not want to move. We have property in our home community, family and friends; yet after a long and hard look we both arrived at the same conclusion. Although 35 miles might not seem l...

New Hope Mission School, a conservative Mennonite-owned facility in Spanish Lookout They held hands as they walked towards the school building, their faces glowing with anticipation while the cool morning breeze ruffled their crisp new shirts. That big day, much talked about, discussed and imagined, was finally here. I felt a bit emotional as I waved goodby half an hour later.   We parents had endeavored to homeschool them for one term due to the Holdeman Mennonite school abruptly closing down in mid 2023 after being in operation since 1995. To say we felt stranded wasn’t accurate. Instead we began to be increasingly desperate as door after door appeared to be closing on us. One school was too modern; another was too rigid; yet another had no specific religious affiliation; government schools were not an option. Thus we settled on homeschooling until another little one arrived in the family, creating a challenge in our schedule. Early this year we commenced our search again ...

Smoke and dust over Lagoon Valley, western Spanish Lookout. A friend of ours recently encountered a brief snowfall as she travelled across western Canada, and posted it on her story. Typical of us humans, we watched, wished and jokingly wondered among ourselves that perhaps snow could be packaged and shipped in containers overseas since it appears that somewhere along the line, the weather forgot that the Mennonite crop farmers in Spanish Lookout confidently expect rain by the 21st of May. We are now on the eve of the 26th and still no sign of the usual thunderstorms. Instead, a yellowish haze caused by the smoke from uncontrolled burnings coupled with a layer of Saharan dust (yes, dust all the way from Africa) hangs above our heads night and day. Daytime temperatures remain over 95° for most of the day, rising as high as 108° sometimes. Rolling Hills, Spanish Lookout Behind Duck Run 2   My nieces developed a respiratory infection due to the smoke and dust. I’m sure they’...

A church building in Upper Barton Creek     Smoke covered the hills and white dust floated around and over us as I assisted some church friends in Upper Barton Creek in  moving from a rented house to their very own home. I chatted with Mr. Harms, who hails from Canada and is one of several conservative families moving into the area, about the warm weather. His comments shook me.   He and his family wanted to live in a warm country. I repeated the statement, thinking to myself, And here I am, wishing I lived in the Yukon or in the Alps. It was a new thought, sort of, to realize that there are individuals to whom 42°C is a blessing. (For the record, I have experienced -30°C while working in Canada, and nearly lost my toes in the process but even then I would take snow over sweltering hot weather anytime.) An antiquated farm implement   I greeted Mr Harder, the elderly gentleman who runs the fruit nursery and who is one of the few remaining members of...

Mountain View Church on the eastern edge of Spanish Lookout, close to San Marcos village.      Never ask a Mennonite from any of the modern churches about the Kleine Gemeinde church. Suddenly their expressions change, or they shrug their shoulders, or appear uninterested, or will begin to deride them, seemingly ignoring the fact that it was the Kleine Gemeinde Mennonites who founded Spanish Lookout and lost lives and limbs as they transformed a trackless jungle into a peaceful, prosperous, disciplined community for their descendants. Those descendants, while appreciating their forefathers’ toil and tears, now regard the “old” religion in contempt, the same religion which laid the cornerstone for the orderly community they now enjoy.   Such was the case when I unthinkingly asked several individuals in Spanish Lookout regarding the new Kleine Gemeinde church building on Bee Avenue. I should have known better. Their replies were a mixture of scorn and derision. A...

   Fourteen years ago I arrived here as a visitor and now, for only the second time in my life, I stood beside the river in Roaring Creek, Belize. A fine gray film of caliche dust coated our clothes and hair as we attended to customers at Belize’s annual National Agriculture and Trade Show in Belmopan. Semi-trucks thundered past on the bridge which overlooks the grounds, busses blared their horns, the neighing of horses and lowing of cattle mingled with the loudspeaker’s squawking at the rodeo stands which was accompanied by loud country music as well as some other classics which were not country. BJ Thomas was mournfully reminding us of raindrops falling on our heads despite the fact that the sky was sunny and mostly cloudless. I do not like country music or any slow music, for that matter. The "new" bridge, which nearly stayed underwater during the flood of 2020   Needless to say, the beer company possibly carried the honor of being the most important trade on th...