The Mennonite Calling

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  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 father was "black".
  Yet another drug-addicted father who "sold" his children to fulfiill his craving for the illicit drugs he was consuming.
  A husband who often lost his temper and slapped his wife if she didn't fulfill her marital duties toward him yet piously attended church every Sunday.
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  This is why I haven't written much in my blog for a while. Some of the stories which are not shared here have shaken me to the core and caused me to wonder at my own sanity. You see these are Mennonites. I'm not referring only to the modern ones of Spanish Lookout, or the conservatives of Shipyard, or traditionalists of Springfield. I'm talking about the blond-haired, blue-eyed, Plautdietsch-speaking group of Mennonites in Belize be they ultra conservative or extremely modern.
  Behind the facades of stately mansions, prosperous farms, and jumble of buggies and wagons are the real Mennonites. And sometimes, that reality is shocking as I have discovered.
  Several months ago I published an article: A Coup and a Calling in which I described how I discovered my calling via a coup'd'etat at the workplace. That calling has allowed me to see the Plautdietsch Mennonites in a different light, forging ties with them in a way I never thought and exposing some subtle prejudices in my own heart which I had long held towards them.
  There are rich Mennonites who clear their throat and appear embarassed when a "poor spanish" person tries to hold a spiritual conversation with them. It does look strange doesn't it? Imagine a "spanish" person preaching to them concerning their riches and materialism. Then there are those shabby and ragged Mennonites who refuse to believe that this "spanish" person can actually help them because they view me as an outsider.
  It's an emotionally draining calling, yet a spiritually fulfilling one.















                    A. Mendoza


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