Mennonites in Belize

  It was a cloudy and rainy day. Two young men were heading home for lunch trying to stay ahead of the rain, but they never made it. Both were within sight of their homes, both lived on the same road, both were driving motorbikes, and each was coming from the opposite direction. They collided and both died on the spot. This happened in Spanish Lookout, on the 22nd of June, around 11:30am. I received the news at 11:45. One was the son of a Kleine Gemeinde business owner, another was the son of a non-conservative Mennonite mechanic whose home church is in Belmopan.   One of them had been a co-worker. My friends and I stood around in shocked silence when we were told our co-worker had passed away. For the rest of the day, everyone seemed to be more subdued.  The KG's son's funeral service was held in the big KG Schoenthal church on Center Road, and the other one's funeral at the Countryside Park, the place where non-KG people hold their funeral services.   I attended...

     From woodstoves, to propane burners, to electric ranges. Each branch has their way of cooking their meals whether out of preference or because of church regulations.   The Kleine Gemeinde and other non-traditional Mennonites of Blue Creek and Spanish Lookout are switching over to electric ranges, as well as some of the wealthier Conservative, Holdemans and Beachy. Electricity prices haven't gone down, it has simply become more affordable, more available and more stable compared to 10 years ago. Also they no longer rely only on the stove but use other modern items such as electric pots, electric griddles, etc.   The Old Colony group uses propane stoves because it is more economical than electric ranges yet more efficient than woodstoves, also to keep their tradition of avoiding "luxury" items; the typical Belizean fashion with a butane tank standing outside and a hole in the wall for the supply line. For cooking that will require a large amount of time ...

         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...

 The time for change is now or never.   Up to now, only 1 or 2 restaurants in both Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek had been allowed to be open on Sundays. Besides that, there were some Mennonite owned businesses in cities and towns outside of the colonies that perhaps had a few open hours on Sundays.   But now, for the first-time in the Mennonite's history in Belize, a business in Spanish Lookout will be open 24/7. It's actually about a mile and a half outside of the Spanish Lookout border line but close enough to be considered a Spanish Lookout business, on Iguana Creek Road, in an area that is fast becoming a commercial zone.   Welcome to Iguana Boys Service station, big enough to accommodate semi-trucks with double trailers, which is something that not many Belizean fuel stations can afford. Inside the building is a hardware and automotive parts store.

  How do they view a conflict that is thousands of miles away yet affects them in one way or another?   Most Mennonites see the recent tensions between Moslem countries and the country of Israel as prophesies being fulfilled and God-ordained happenings. Since God spoke so much about Israel as his beloved servant and chosen people in the Old Testament, they understand it to mean the physical, geographical country of Israel today. The fact that Israel has a powerful military that has committed atrocities and other war crimes is quietly ignored or sidestepped by many who defend Israel either because they believe the Old Testament over the New Testament or simply take it for granted what their pastor tells them concerning the Old Testament prophesies that have to do with Israel as God's country.   Now , let's see what the Beachy and Holdeman groups have to say about this situation in the Middle East. They believe that the Israel of the Old Testament and the Israel of the Ne...

  Now these other 3 branches of the Mennonite tree are not higher-class or more educated. Since they have not been as closed as the Old Colony and KG have been for centuries, they have accepted some influence of the "English" or "worldly" community concerning manners for their own benefit.   Old Order Mennonites of central and south Belize, who were originally Pennsylvania Dutch but have accepted Mennonites from the north, are more mindful of their public behaviour than the KG and Old Colony people. I have dealt with many of them as customers and never really experienced anything that most girls would call "gross" and "yucky". Females are extremely shy and show very little skin except for their faces and hands. Their skirts reach down to their shoetops; though it's wide it has tucks and folds to keep it from flying up in the wind. Personal cleanliness is paid more attention to among this group. Perhaps it is because they are spiritual-minded...

  Among most German-speaking, or "Russian" Mennonites, the meaning of etiquette is largely unknown, especially among the older ones.   The Old Colony folks from northern Belize would appear very disrespectful to someone who is not used to their culture. For example loud belching, burping in someone's face, farting in front of people and while eating at the table, picking your nose with your fingers during mealtime and fixedly staring at people with their mouth open, etc. Other than that they are warm and hospitable to guests and visitors. Girls are very shy; the mothers strictly teach their daughters about the proper way to sit and play while wearing a skirt.    Not so much among the Kleine Gemeinde; girls are admonished to watch their skirts but since their dresses are made very wide and loose fitting, it can be somewhat challenging for pre-teen girls, specially during playtime and for those tomboys. Now as far as "minding your manners", there are the libera...