Happy New Year 2026

-
  

  The first quarter of the 21st century is behind us. What will the next three quarters bring us? For us the last 4 months has been full of life-changing events.
  We became full-fledged members of a conservative Mennonite church; after 18 years I finally left my job as a salesperson at the local shopping center; we started a business building rustic furniture and DIY decór from pallets and wood scraps; we attended a marriage seminar for the first time in our lives and it was fun. Our little art and craft shop has a steady line of customers, certainly not as much income as before but oh the freedom and joy it brings as we channel our passion into something that people enjoy! Between October and Christmas we built approximately 400 wooden crates for people across the country.
  Now Christmas is over and I want to pursue another one of my passions: writing about Mennonites in Belize. Lets see what all I discover this year.

















                           

                    A. Mendoza

Popular posts from this blog

Mennonite Headcoverings (Part 2)

-
Image
                   The Kleine Gemeinde  They believe the headcovering is mandatory as found in the Bible; however, as time goes by it is being viewed more as a necessary garment required by the church after baptism than as a symbol of Biblical obedience. Some of them wear the covering without a clear understanding of exactly why they must wear it. Thus, while pre-teen girls do not wear any headcoverings, by the age of 15 or 16 they are considered to be of "joining age". Although they are not physically forced to join, the verbal and emotional pressure placed on them by parents and peers is more than enough to convince them to enter baptism classes ( this is the opinion of an ex-KG girl who spoke to me. ) From then on the black triangular, fall-back headcovering is worn, held with clips, until she decides to leave the KG church.                 Holdeman Mennonites     Beli...
Read more

Mennonite Foods

-
Image
         The Old Colony, Kleine Gemeinde, and Old Order have a diet which mainly consists of homemade bread, cottage cheese, noodles, pork, potatoes, and stewed beans. Milk is used in many of their meals, such as casseroles and faspa foods. Some dishes from the Plautdietsch groups are:   nuddelsuppe:  noodle soup made with home-made noodles    werenaki:  (perogies see picture above ) made of pockets of flour with  glums  (cottage cheese) filling,  schmaunfat  (white gravy made of flour, milk and black pepper), and  formavorscht  (pork sausage). The perogies are then boiled and served. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try out Plautdietsch foods although I prefer the fried ones.  Cheesy or creamy casseroles: often it will contain meat and cream with potatoes or macaroni   borscht:  a vegetable soup with bits of meat sometimes added to it    Clops: patties from either ground m...
Read more

Mennonite Houses

-
Image
 Mennonites in Belize have become famous for their custom-built wooden "Mennonite houses". The two main  house builders in the country,  Plett's Home Builders and Linda Vista Lumberyard , both located in Spanish Lookout, have become reknowned for their prefabricated houses which are built in Spanish Lookout and shipped countrywide. Houses are built from lumber or colored sheet metal and prices will vary of course based on the amount of details a customer wants. A small house with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom and kitchen may cost you an estimated US$12,000 to US$15,000. (Check directly with the company for up-to-date pricing and delivery fees.)    A "Mennonite house", custom built by Plett's Home Builder's; photo via Facebook   Plett's Home Builders offers both metal and wood siding with a variety of porch and window designs. Linda Vista, which is just down the road from Plett's, also offers excellent building options. Also inside Spanish Lookout i...
Read more