# History In 1958 Old Colony Mennonites came from Mexico and settled in Blue Creek. It was the largest Mennonite settlement both in population and area at the time. One hundred and fifteen thousand acres of private land were purchased by the Mennonites as a group for U. S. $310,000.00. The land was later divided among the settlers. By the beginning of 1960, the land had been paid for. Of all the Mennonite settlements , Blue Creek was the most difficult to reach, though a road was being constructed southwest from the district capital of Orange Walk to Blue Creek, a distance of 26 miles. The road had been completed as far as [[settlement:9]] in 1961. Until the road was completed, however, the Rio Hondo was the only avenue to the outside world. To get from [[settlement:186]] to Blue Creek required first a thirty minute automobile ride westward from the district capital to the village of [[settlement:223]] on the [[waterway:347]]. From [[settlement:223]] a motorized dorey, or dug-out canoe, covered the distance upstream to Blue Creek in four and one half hours.https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/05/43/44/00001/AA00054344_00001.pdf Disputes about the use of mechanical tools, especially chainsaws, soon led to disputes. This resulted in the founding of the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference (EMMC) congregation in 1966, while others left for Bolivia, Mexico, Canada and [[settlement:291]].https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1099&context=amishstudies In the end the leaders of the Old Colony church left as well. In 1978 several Kleine Gemeinde families come from [[settlement:295]] and settled in Blue Creek.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Creek,_Orange_Walk ## COVID-19 During the Covid-19 pandemic the government of Belize mandated, among other things, that churches should be limited to 10 persons or less. However, as that goes against the religion of all Christians, the Mennonites elected not to close down churches. As a result police arrived at the Kleine Gemeinde Edental church during Sunday morning services on November 4, 2020 to arrest the pastors and disperse the attendees. The Blue Creek village chairman, Abram Rempel, said that *“the calling of God is higher than the calling of this government,”* and that the entire community planned to continue with church services on the upcoming Sunday if the National Oversight Committee (NOC) would not reverse its decision on church fellowship.https://amandala.com.bz/news/blue-creek-mennonites-rebel/ ## Media In 2006 a documentary of Mennonites in Belize was filmed with interviews of residents in [[settlement:295]], [[settlement:151]], Blue Creek, [[settlement:291]] and [[settlement:146]].https://archive.channel5belize.com/archives/8250