Mennonites in Belize

  Evening shadows engulf Reimer's Feed Mill   Known as the bread basket of the country, Spanish Lookout is also a commercial center for all of Belize. From vast cornfields to hardware stores, it has supplied the country with food, jobs, and a financial boost to the economy. The most modern community of all Mennonites in Belize, it is also the biggest Mennonite "city" in Central America as far as commerce and shopping. It is not the biggest Mennonite community in population though.   Supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, hardware stores, meat processing plants, banks, grain mills, glass importers, fuel stations, auto repair shops, metal fabricators and lumberyards are all found on the main road or a little off it. Unlike a typical town, the main buildings are not packed close together but scattered along on the 4 mile stretch known as Center Road. There is a new commercial zone opening up just outside Spanish Lookout, on Iguana Creek Road, the main highway tha...

  When I took up this subject I had no intention or will ever make it my intention to write negatively or discriminate against any of the 6 or 7 Mennonite denominations living here. I simply write about them, their lifestyles, their benefits to the country, the not-so-beneficial things, etc. because there are a lot of misunderstandings about the different Mennonites residing in Belize. Perhaps some of my readers think my articles are written in a negative or derogatory way. I apologize for that but the truth is I'm not a North American or European reporter just passing through. Nor am I associated with any resort, hotel, or tour company. If I was I would have to fill my articles with praise and compliments for all the Mennonites, conveying a false representation. No, I'm simply writing from the viewpoint of someone who has lived, worked, sweated, laughed, cried and slept with them for most of my life. Therefore I hope I am portraying to the rest of the world a more practical an...

  I owe my readers a little explanation. I label all plainly-dressed, white-head-covering Mennonites as Beachy Amish simply for the sake of distinguishing them from the other 4 branches of the Mennonite religion. On a closer investigation though, there are many that are quick to point out "no, we're not Beachy, we're just Mennonites." At the very first I felt like rolling my eyes. Of course they're Mennonites. But the reason I had been using the term "Beachy Amish" is because it is a large, varied group of Mennonites that are halfway between conservative Mennonites and liberal Amish. The whole story started somewhere in the early 1900's in the middle-eastern US. No central government, varying degrees of conservativeness, some resemble Amish while some are very close to the Holdeman Mennonites.    The truth is, there are at least 4 groups that look like they are part of the Beachy church but are not. I will refer to these as Conservative Mennonites, ...

   Most Plautdietsch Mennonites (except the non-conservative ones) don't give a cent for holidays, especially government ones. The only holidays observed by them are New Year's Day, Good Friday/Easter Monday, and the 25th/26th of December.   Government holidays are ignored by many of them and as long as the workers get their holidays paid nobody cares much either. In fact I know some KG men and other Mennonites who wouldn't hesitate to work for profit on Sundays too. There has been talk of having restaurants or snack shops open on Sundays in their communities of Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek.   The 6th of January is a religious holiday observed by the Old Colony Mennonites of northern Belize but not recognized by the government.    Beachy Amish and the Holdemans do not have any preference or specific holidays. They observe the religious holidays recognized by the government and out of respect some of their congregations keep other political holida...

  Except for a Mennonite-run clinic in Spanish Lookout and 1 in Blue Creek, most Mennonites (the wealthier ones) depend on non-Mennonite private doctors for serious injuries and childbirth. Both clinics are community owned, have their own ambulances, and are operated by female volunteers and full-time nurses, mostly middle-aged women. Some of the older ladies are certified to assist in pregnancy and childbirth. As yet there is no official male doctor in all 5 branches of Mennonites in Belize. The clinics attend to anyone from anywhere in the country.   Among the Old Colony and Old Order groups, there are many wise, experienced old men and women herbalists who also carry out chiropracting, dentistry and offer herbal cures and massages.   So what happens after a near fatal vehicle accident or a terminal illness is diagnosed? For those who can afford it, the patient is flown to a private hospital in Guatemala City or to Chetumal City on the Mexican side to the north. B...

    Spanish Lookout   Not as big an event as the one at Farmer's Trading Center a few weeks ago, but it still draws a sizable crowd, especially after 5 when people visit to take advantage of the food available with purchase. More than just a tire store, they also run a complete line of hardware tools and a fuel station nearby.   Took these pictures during a not-so-busy hour. Directly across to the west is the "new" market center.

  Next Saturday, November 17, is Caribbean Tire's annual sale day in Spanish Lookout. Each of their branches throughout the country has a different date, beginning in November and into December. Discounts, raffles, food and drinks are available from 7AM to 8PM at the Spanish Lookout branch.   For this coming Saturday, November 10, a neighborhood sale will be held by 4 other businesses in Spanish Lookout. Reimer's Service Center, Belize Tire Depot, Crossroad Farm Supplies, and Midwest Steel. These 4 companies sit right at a junction, and therefore will be quite interesting, sort of like a mini expo.