Mennonites in Belize

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  Horses, buggies, 2-wheeled carts, ox carts, topless wagons, etc. These are several types of transportation used by the different traditional and conservative Mennonites living in Belize and are all locally made by their own members. Unlike the ones used by the Amish of North America, the ones here are all the open kind and use rubber tires. Also, how a buggy is made reflects how conservative their group is.                   Old Colony Mennonites   The Mennonites of northern Belize; Shipyard, Little Belize, Neuland, etc. use horses, 4-wheeled buggies and 2-wheel carts mostly for personal transportation within the community and to travel to surrounding villages. These Mennonites allow the use of motorized farm equipment as long as it has steel tires. Hence steel-tire tractors are depended on for pulling heavy loads and plowing, leaving the horses for lighter transport. Buggies and carts are made of planed lumber and painted b...

To see the pictures clearer and sharper, simply touch on any picture Entrance to the San Ignacio market as you come from Santa Elena   The twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena have played their share in the development of Spanish Lookout, and vice versa. Located about 12 miles to the southwest of Spanish Lookout and Lower Barton Creek (which is an ultra conservative traditional Mennonite community), it has served as the business center of the western Cayo District. Traditional Mennonites from Lower Barton Creek frequently travel there in their buggies to sell watermelons and vegetables. Mennonites from Spanish Lookout also head there to do government paperwork, banking, for medical assistance, police documents, grocery shopping at Chinese supermarkets, date nights, etc. Lin's Supermarket right at the entrance to Santa Elena as you come from Spanish Lookout. It is a popular spot for evening shopping for both Mennonites and other residents The low wooden bridge ac...

  What is  faspa  anyways? Well, among most Plautdietsch Mennonites, faspa is an afternoon snack. During work days, the word refers to the 3pm snack break. On Sundays, it usually refers to an early supper, or late snack, whichever side of the clock you look at it. A favorite faspa for Sunday afternoons is  rollkuchen  with watermelon. Rollkuchen is made similar to Belizean fry jacks but usually in a rectangular shape without the bubbly surface. On hot days, families sit out in the shade or head over to the riverside to enjoy it with juicy, mouth-watering watermelons (even sweeter and juicier yet if they come from Barton Creek farms).   Another faspa is opening up jars of canned pineapples or mangoes, canned at home. For me, I like to open a can of Carnation° milk and pour it over a bowl of cold mixed fruit.

  This is a list of shops and stores from south to north on Center Road. I will upload more pictures yet. Universal Hardware   The first store on Center Road, right where the pavement begins, traveling north from the ferry. Auto sales and motorbike sales as well as a hardware and appliance store.   Close to Universal Hardware is Midwest Lumber, where wood frame houses are built and lumber is sold. A little  before  Universal, on the gravel road, is a gentleman who does a new method of water purifying, called Puroxi. He also deals with replacement parts for appliances. Penner's Metal Works    Close to Universal Hardware and across the road from the above mentioned Midwest Lumber. They fabricate metal items such as galvanized and stainless steel water tanks and other custom metal work. Friesen's Hatchery   About 3/4 mile from Penner's Metal Works, they take care of the community's baby chicks. Sales are only done on specific days. You can ...

        Church of God in Christ, Mennonite To find out more about what kind of Mennonite church this is, click  here .   I have traveled across Canada, in the US and throughout Central America and I am surprised at how "worldly" some of the Holdeman churches in North America are compared to their brethren in Central America, and I'm not talking about houses and vehicles. I mean in the amount of "outside" influences they allow in their daily lives.   The reason I'm mentioning my travels is because I have noticed that while the Holdemans are all united in their "one true church" belief worldwide, and all adhere to the same doctrinal book, the practical way their doctrines are applied varies from country to country and in the US, Canada, and other big countries, it varies from congregation to congregation, to the point where it borders on "worldliness" by another country's standards. For example in some Manitoba congregations, certai...

The following is a short narrative by a former female student of Twin Creek School   It saddens me to see the places where childhood memories were made changing or being changed, but we can't keep things the same forever, can we? The little one-room Kleine Gemeinde Mennonite schoolhouse where I spent 3 years of my childhood will be removed next week. I'm not sure if it will be relocated or sold. It closed down last year due to not enough students.   Twin Creek School was originally located close to Aguacate Lake crossroads, close to Leonard M Reimer, current owner of Midwest Steel Hardware. Back then it was called Edenthal School #20 I believe. However when I started attending it they had just relocated it further north, on a hilltop, where it received its name of Twin Creek. It is the northernmost schoolhouse in Spanish Lookout and the highest in elevation. It overlooks a wide, lush green valley.   I remember heading to school on a trailer made out of the bed of an...