Mennonites in Belize

     Kleine Gemeinde and Amish Mennonite churches often come together for singings, preachings, and conferences. Gray clouds floated in front of a layer of white ones with hints of a shower later on. The breeze, always from the east, carried the smell of ripening corn into the wooden church building. Butterflies drifted over the recently mowed yard while to the north a small Cessna crossed the sky. But today my mind was not on these things.   I was eager to find out the process through which one becomes a member of an Amish Mennonite church, namely the Conservative Mennonites (not quite the same as the Beachy Amish) after having been a baptized member of another similar traditional church.   Turns out it's a bit different–and much simpler– from the Holdeman Mennonites church where I grew up in. The applicant is allotted a time of "proving" during which the baptized members admonish, rebuke or bring forth. Members meetings are held during these months...

     A Holdeman Mennonite church and school Four hundred years ago Shakespeare wondered, "What's in a name?" After all, it is our focus on the object that distinguishes it, not the letters or words which refer to it. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" .   While I admire Shakespeare, the time has come to deviate from his philosophy and instead carve out our own.   It commenced when the board of the private Mennonite school which our daughter attended suddenly announced that they were not planning on re-opening the coming school term. Nor was there any indication of when it would be in operation again. A rather hard blow for us since the time for student registration in other schools was nearly past.   A few years ago a blog reader reached out to me about the schools available in and around Spanish Lookout. I endeavored my utmost to assist him, without the remotest idea that we would be in his shoes in the ne...

      How do you react when a link to your past is no more? When a person, or place, or object, or institution impacted you so profoundly that even when you drift away on life's no return road, you glance over your shoulder just to assure yourself it's still there? Such was the case with my childhood school. Founded in the mid-1990's, constructed of gray cinder block with sheet metal roofing, wooden shutters and a concrete floor, this plain one-room church-administered Mennonite school was the place where I experienced bullying for at least two years, the place where I realized I was visually impaired, where I was firmly taught conservative values and strict adherence to church doctrines, yet silently wondered about some of the religious practices, where the teacher always joined us on the playground and made sure everyone played together. My eight grades were spent here, later on my daughter was enrolled here. Although I left the traditional church many years ago, in my ...

     Part of Shipyard sits on the banks of the New River The fine chalky white dust of the bumpy limestone roads in Shipyard infiltrated the vehicle as our Canadian driver carefully avoided the potholes. Other drivers, Belizean to the core, whizzed past us as though a bumpy road was the last thing on their minds. Here and there we passed horse-drawn buggies and flatbed carts, steel-wheeled tractors and combines. Scattered over the low hills were low-roofed metal frame homes and sheds with odds and ends of farm machinery on the yard. Windmills towered over some farms. In one yard heavy construction equipment was being repaired; in another a barge was being welded.   We were in Shipyard, an Old Colony Mennonite community which has been featured in countless magazines and Youtube documentaries. A land of stark contrasts where it is a sin to drive a passenger vehicle yet necessary to own one. Where government electricity is forbidden but solar panels are allowed...

     We are approaching the day marked on our calendars as "Mother's Day", and I am reminded not only of what the day means to us, but also of the daily struggles, the hidden tears, the joy and grief, the frustrations and disappointments, the heartaches and love, the kindness, gentleness and patience that are all summed up in one word: Mother.   As you read the poem below I hope you too also remember and realize that for our moms, Mother's Day is every single day of the year. __________________________________________ Mom is an Open Letter I am an open letter. My children keenly read me. They try to speak like Mother My remarks they copy. They watch my responses and deeds, Notice acts of kindness or greed. They catch on my attitudes Of complaint or gratitude. I hear echoes of my own words, Mom's reactions they'll absorb. They follow me around all day, And record all words that I say. As I treat them, so they'll others treat. Is their imitation ...

   Warning: this video contains graphic content which some viewers may find disturbing. If you're a vegan, or some sort of radical animal rights activist, then please leave this site .   Have you ever been inside an Old Colony Mennonite butcher shop?   The video above was filmed at a slaughterhouse in Camp 5, Shipyard. First the camera rolls past the holding cells where cattle and pigs are crammed as tight as sardines in their respective quarters, then a tour of the facilities, past a Mennonite boy calmly eating lunch, then on to the butcher block where a young Mennonite man expertly aims a gun at a bull, then to another room where a goat and a cow are skillfully decapitated, another room where animals are hoisted on chains for skinning, finally to the meat packing room where the hide is removed from cow's feet and prepared for cow foot soup, a delicacy among many Belizeans.   You can watch the video above or go to  Youtube .    View full blog ...

     Do you enjoy acapella singing? If so, you would no doubt be interested in this Mennonite choir which is currently making the rounds. See their schedule below for the next few weeks: For those interested in the Harmony Choir programs the updated schedule is below. You’re welcome to show up at a program as well!  *7 May* 9:00 am: Carmelita Church, Orange Walk 4:30 pm: Edenthal Kleinegemeinde Church, Blue Creek, Orange Walk *14 May* 6:30 pm Hattieville, Belize District *21 May* 9:00 am Cayo Christian Fellowship, Red Creek, Cayo  Evening. Greendale Church, Spanish Lookout *4 June Sunday* 6:00 pm in El Chal, Peten, Guatemala *5 June Monday* 8:30 am program at the school in El Chal, Peten, Guatemala    View full blog    Mennonite News                                         A. Mendoza