Hunger for Hope in Belize

The plane taxied into Belize City, and our friend Isaac Enns met us at the airport. He drove us down the dirt roads to Orange Walk, where a concentrated group of 5,000 Mennonites live. 

Belize is a warm and humid country, with everything from monkeys in mango trees to crocodiles swimming in lagoons to towering Mayan ruins strewn across its thick jungle.

This group of Old Colony Mennonites first moved from Russia, to Canada, to Mexico, and finally to Belize. They have been in Belize for almost 70 years. 

These brothers and sisters heard Brother Benny Dueck’s podcast, which is spoken in their native language, Low German. Brother Benny, who comes from a Mennonite community in Chihuahua, Mexico, described his search for community. When he encountered Heritage Ministries, he felt God extended hope to him. As Brother Benny shared the power and life of this group of believers, Belizean Mennonites started asking if someone from our community would come visit them.

We made a trip last year to visit these hungry people. Over a few days we held many gatherings; up to 200 met with us at a forested pavilion. 

This month we made another trip to Belize with Brother Rick and Sister Cathy Patterson. Our hosts packed our short stay with meetings from sunup to sundown every day, with no time to spare. 

We met and prayed with a core group of families who desired the infilling of the Holy Spirit, had meetings with leaders asking about unity, and met one on one with couples who wanted to ask questions and pray with us. 

One meeting was held in a hoop house in the jungle. God moved powerfully to meet needs and bring healing. We shared about the gospel of Jesus and the necessity of obedience to that gospel, beginning with  repentance, which is the only path to true unity in the Spirit. We experienced the power of spiritual warfare when a lady who was bound in oppression was visibly set free in the name of Jesus. 

These dear people are seeking more of God. Please join with us to bind fear and oppression and pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.