Mennonites in Belize

     The girl's eyes reflected the pain and trauma she had experienced. Her home and family completely destroyed by sexual lust and pornography. Raped by her brother, sexually molested by her father, now alone and scared, she stood defiant with a set jaw as I carefully chose my response to her story.   A man so profoundly ensnared by tobacco and alcohol that he forced his oldest daughters into prostitution in order to bring some income for the rest of the family.   An older person on the verge of suicide. The sad and tired eyes spoke of a deep internal struggle which was tormenting. I prayed for the person and said "God bless you". But it seemed I was too late.   An elderly man, already a great-grandfather, caught in the vicious trap of pornography, estranged from his wife and children.   Another heart-broken young woman who had an abortion because her parents refused to accept her as a daughter if she kept the baby, especially because the baby's fathe...

  "Long live the que...". Not anymore, sir.   Today, August 4, Belize officially began using its brandnew banknotes. The paper notes emblazoned with Queen Elizabeth II are now history and have been replaced by a more modern style, at least in looks, similar to the peso and quetzal. Banking institutions are now handing out only the new bills but the old ones are still valid until eventually phased out. Mennonite News View Blog                     A. Mendoza

  A display at Timberman Designs "Pizza Hut" in Shipyard, complete with drivethru Neighbors and friends at play, San Marcos Teachers and students at a summer Bible school, DuckRun 3 A cybertruck in Spanish Lookout caused a sensation A program at UCM church The beginning of a new school year A truck goes for a swim at the Baking Pot ferry crossing Guatemalan trucks being loaded with chickens Miss Loewen does a great job as chiropracter Mennonite News View Blog                                                 A. Mendoza

      Is it a 100% effective and accurate method of diagnosing body health or simply a "work smarter, not harder" technique? Or perhaps a scam to milk money out of unsuspecting customers? Could it simply be an electronic device which is actually algorithm-based and tampered before hand by manual input? On the other hand, plenty of customers are satisfied with its results and have demonstrated--or at least claimed-- improved quality of health.   QRMA (quantom resonance magnetic analyzer) treatment is a debated subject with no official scientific confirmation exhibiting the method as accurate or its proven effectiveness in curing illnesses, based on my research. But perhaps my research is biased; maybe my Gen Y mind cannot fathom such a mysterious theory of physics actually being applied directly to my own body and hailed as the final say regarding personal health. My  health.   To be honest I am personally fascinated by the study of quantom physics even thou...

A waterwheel in Lower Barton Creek, a colony of conservative and traditional Mennonites An approaching storm over Spanish Lookout Part of the effects of the above storm After 18 years, I finally tried werenaki (perogies) a second time. I think I'm good for another 18 years now. Students and visitors dining at CDI (Cayo Deaf Institute) Crossing the river at Lower Barton Creek Friesen Farmer's Fuel in Shipyard, an Old Colony Mennonite community on the main road to Blue Creek Logs, logs, and more logs piled in Shipyard The   Coffee Corner, a popular deli in Spanish Lookout Mennonite News View Blog                                  A. Mendoza

     "They made a mistake," he stated as he solemnly shook his head.   I leaned against his faded buggy and politely asked him about the Old Colony Mennonites who had left Shipyard for Peru. This elderly gentleman knew English more than Spanish which was a surprise to me. In fact he was fluent until he explained that he was born in Canada and migrated to Belize in his childhood. Now his accent made sense to me.   "They could have simply bought more land and expanded here, but no, they wanted to escape the worldliness around here." He insisted that no matter where you went, ungodliness was all around. Just look at Shipyard. More cars than buggies on the roads it seemed like. Smartphones everywhere. Due to the decaying world, it wouldn't be long until the new settlements in Peru would be just as "worldly" as Shipyard. ( The majority of cars and trucks on the road belong to non-Mennonite custimers; Mennonite business owners are allowed to own trucks as lo...

     She has intense blue eyes and a confident walk with masculine strength in her arms, she does. If Shipyard weren't so far away I would return every week, yes sir, I certainly would.   It was a cloudy day with heavy gusts of wind which brought the rich odor of several hundred pigs across the road directly into our nostrils and all the way into our toes it seemed. My relative commented that the smell of pigs is the smell of money. True, raising pigs is quite a profitable business in Belize but unfortunately we were here for a massage not to soak in the wealthy odor of the hogs down the road. Like it or not, we were forced to smell those thousands of dollars wallowing in mud for another 30 minutes while we waited for Mrs. Klassen to arrive. Shipyard has no zoning laws.   I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't the slender short lady with bright blue eyes. Initially I doubted she would have the strength and expertise needed to deal with my injured s...

      Mr. Isaac Fehr is a certified doctor on the outskirts of Shipyard, an Old Colony Mennonite community in Orange Walk. We travelled to his office along with some relatives to see if our organs were functioning the normal way or if any wires were crossed or brains still awake. Turned out our relative needed a good dose of his tonic and other vital supplements to restore certain parts of the brain .   I discovered he's also a surgeon and chiropracter who studied in Mexico. His method of discovering what is wrong with you is by placing your hand on a scanner then reading a computer screen to see where the problem is. Based on his popularity the method appears to be quite effective in diagnosing illnesses. Shortly before we left he announced that he was expecting a busload of Mennonites from another colony.   Mr. Isaac Fehr can be contacted on the following number: 672-3817. DeStemm Radio station near Shipyard Mennonite News View Blog        ...

     Is having a maid a luxury or a necessity?   We learned a lot of lessons from hiring a Plautdietsch Mennonite maid. Not only did she introduce new Plautdietsch dishes, she has given us a small yet profound glimpse of life among those who are from the Old Colony communities and pointed out practical ways of dealing with certain situations.   At first I wasn't too impressed with her cooking. Now I have accepted my fate and moved on. Have you ever eaten soup from green papayas? Or buttered soup from young tender pumpkins? Or prepared flour tortillas with sugar? The last one created an uproar among certain members of our little family and for a moment I contemplated her salary. No Mestizo girl in her right mind would add sugar to tortillas. But a bit of sugar in the tortillas made by a Plautdietsch girl could be overlooked in exchange for her hard work. We soon saw the funny side of it though and honestly I appreciate and enjoy her cooking.  She also pointe...

     Springfield colony, a community of Hoover Mennonites in the northeast Cayo District, is springing up and out. According to a farmer of that village, they have recently purchased a small tract of land to the north, near Beaver Dam bridge by St. Matthews village. The colony now numbers around 40 families which led them to consider immigrating to Suriname but when that failed they decided to search for land in Mexico however due to certain reasons they decided to remain in Belize.   For the record, these Hoover Mennonites (commonly mistaken for "Amish") are different than the "Russian" Mennonites such as the Kleine Gemeinde and Old Colony in that they are much more conscious of their responsibility towards the land and do not clear out large tracts of land at one time. Firstly because having too much farm land available leads to pride, greed, and materialism second because they do not believe in using any motorized equipment which means that plowing and other fiel...

     I first tasted it 18 years ago.    Last month I tried again. Honestly. I vowed to conquer my fear of cheese or any dairy product for that matter. I believed 2025 would be the year I would become fully Plautdietsch ("Russian") Mennonite since I am married to one and resolved, so help me, that I not only could but would eat werenaki  or perogies, folded pockets of boiled flour dough with cottage cheese filling and a white schmauntfat accompanied by a tasty piece of formavarscht.   I served myself a helping of it. The cheese... ok, let's just say mission accomplished for now. I'm good for another 18 years. Somebody reccomended I try the fried werenaki . Thanks, Sis. I will.   There's other Plautdietsch dishes I look forward to. One of my favorites is salted fryjacks with watermelon...uh, I mean rebus mat rollkuchen, homemade buns spread with butter and a bowl of noodle soup. Occasionally, I eat somma borsch. Mennonite News View Blog   ...

     The cool wind created ripples on the placid waters which created a distorted yet uniquely beautiful and breathtaking reflection of the setting sun. Quality time being my love language, I simply sat with folded hands and observed both the lake and the pedestrians while wondering why it is so difficult for many individuals in my generation to sit for more than 5 minutes without pulling out their phones. (Perhaps for me it's because several years ago we completely left Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and 1 or 2 others and vowed, so help us, that we would never return to them. We have never regretted that decision or had any doubts about it.) I had mine along for a clock and communication, not for wasting valuable time on it.   Valuable time such as noticing that the sun had shifted farther north since last week. A Guatemalan cattle truck was parked across the pasture and I overheard faint snatches of the conversation. I caught a whiff of a pig barn then the s...

     Commonly yet mistakenly referred to as "Amish" due to the men's bushy beards, the women's black bonnets, and the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, this sect of traditional and conservative Mennonites in the foothills of the Maya Mountains in southern Belize may not attract converts to their church but they certainly draw inquisitive visitors to their colonies. Although more tolerant of other races than their Plautdietsch-speaking "Russian" Mennonite counterparts such as the Old Colony of Shipyard or the Kleine Gemeinde of Spanish Lookout, their communities have still remained small by Mennonite standards. Springfield is the most popular one for visitors. The others in Red Bank, Roseville and Birdwalk are smaller and therefore not as widely known.   How does this group view courtship and what is their practice in regards to seeking a life companion? Rather than write it down, I will let 2 of these ex-Hoover Mennonites explain what their dating practices are li...

  The Shining Star clinic was destroyed by fire,                Spanish Lookout Also known as "Mennonite beer" View from FB trailers A US/Canadian style home Future site of a modern church building for one of the   Kleine Gemeinde congregations A Mennonite choir in Santa Elena Linda Vista Shopping Center in Blue Creek A motorcycle and pickup crash in Spanish Lookout Spanish Lookout funeral home Students perform at Fusion Church Harmony Mennonite Choir Mowers on display at Universal Hardware Koop Sheet Metal in the evening on Iguana Creek Road The "Green Hills" area of Spanish Lookout A motorcycle went for a dive at Baking Pot ferry crossing A motorcycle accident in Blue Creek Cast aluminum products in Shipyard Mennonite News View Blog                 A. Mendoza