Meet the Mennonites: Inside the Ultra-Conservative Community | ENDEVR Documentary

I was raised Mennonite in Germany and left the faith, meaning I had to leave everything behind. Thus, from the day I left, I had to leave my family behind…one gets excommunicated. It was hard to start a new life all by myself—I immigrated to Canada, ; I had to educate myself—since I had a limited educational background —and not to mention in a foreign language; I became a teacher. But I still feel very vulnerable to the world when I look around and people having families—Aunts, Onkels, Grandparents and more—it’s all so foreign to me now. I still feel an emptiness within me after all these years; it’s like someone took 1/2 of me..the pain is very very deep and does not go away no matter what comes my way, I guess that’s the price I had to pay; Would I do it again? Yes; because I had no choice but to stay true to myself.

I have such great admiration for Wilhelm, the doctor who risked everything and paid the price, because he thought having a phone would save lives. I wish him the best with his new community.

You can see how much Franz loves his family, they genuinely love him too. There is just a happiness in their faces, unlike some of the other families eg. the one at dinner. Even the mans wife had such an unhappy constant facial expression. I hope Franz and his family are doing very well.

My mom is from a colony in Mexico. Her parents came to Canada when she was 12. She had never seen her reflection before so when she saw a mirror it scared her. My dad came from a colony in Paraguay. He was excommunicated because he wanted to marry a spanish girl so he came to Canada. They still live by the mennonite faith (as do I) but we are all a very modern version. Great documentary!

Mennonite: Smuggles smart phone into his house Also Mennonite: Watches nothing but farming videos on youtube

I have several Mennonite families living next door to my place, they are quiet people and very friendly. I give them goat milk soap I make in exchange if I need help with their machinary. I have great respect for them.

I wish we could see a part 2/update on their new community. Good for them for chasing their dreams and not letting fear stop them.

My heart goes out to the Grandma, and Grandpa and family who said good bye to the loved ones, not knowing if they wound see each other again. Anyone reading this, please give the Grandma a hug for me or for sure a hand shake and kind words. ❤️ I wish she was my Grandma and I could go visit her often!

It was a Mennonite shelter that took in my grandmother and a few of her siblings in the 30's when her mother could no longer feed them. As far as I can tell, they treated the kids well. My grandmother talked about how that was the only period of her childhood where she had enough to eat and felt safe. I so wish I could find the family!

I’m so touched with the father risking everything for his children to experience and enjoy life.

Abraham’s enthusiasm, positive attitude and energy is amazing in a lifestyle that so many of us would find inhibiting 💚I’m glad that the doctor and others have found a way to continue their relationship with their faith while including some modern tools. Franz seems like such a great Dad - sharing a bit of the outside world with his children and having his daughter assist him in “Male Work”. May all these folks continue to live the life that fulfills them 💚

I was a truck driver about 13 years ago and used to make quick turnaround trips, 400 mile round trips daily to haul pre fabricated wooden sheds for a company who sold them on a lot. The people who built the sheds were Mennonite people. They worked around the clock. It was a huge operation with an entire colony working together. They had a mill, indoor assembly line, and acres to put finished sheds on. Some of them had simple flip phones for business only. They had cookies, snacks, and soda hidden everywhere. They didn't say much. Nice people.

I like Franz and I feel sorry for him. It’s clear he wants his children to know about the world and he’s curious too. But he wants to be faithful to his religion as well. Hard situation.

I remember recovering from a major surgery and was told to walk laps around the hospital three times a day. I walked out my door and there was seriously 50 Amish people standing in line to see a patient. It caught me so off guard. I made friends with the patient after they all left and the following day, his family brought be homemade bread, butter, and jam in a little basket, which was downright amazing. The following year I was working at an air show and saw them all again! I didn't even know there was amish in Michigan.

this was so interesting. I clicked on this thinking I was going to watch a documentary about the mennonites in Pennsylvania. I didn't realize it was going to be about Belize and Peru. I really hope that there will be more content about their new community. I am also so amazed that with as little schooling as they had and as little media that they were allowed to consume that some of them also spoke English and Spanish so well! That is so impressive and really just shows I need to get off my comfy American butt and finally commit to learning Spanish.

The attention to detail in this video was impressive, it showed the dedication of the creators

Their language is so fascinating. I am German and it was so difficult for me to understand their dialect. It sounds a lot closer to Dutch or even Afrikaans than it does to Standard High German and the "modern" dialects we have here in Germany.

I taught in a regular Canadian public school a few years ago where some of my students were "Mexican Mennonites". Their families would farm in Canada in the summer and migrate to Mexico in the winter to farm in a warmer climate. The kids wore traditional, homemade clothing and spoke a form of German. They had to learn English at school. These were among the happiest, most respectful and most well-behaved children I have ever taught. I have great respect for their family values and hard-working lifestyle.

Wonderful, what Wilhelm did! I wish him and his community all the best! Take the good from both worlds and be happy 🍀

I grew up in a very small, conservative town in central Illinois. We all lived lives very different from this, but our church was an "evangelical" mennonite church. It's making me sick to my stomach realizing that all the religious trauma I endured was just the same as this Handmaid's Tale esque type of cult--just repackaged with poppy "worship" songs. I thought I grew up normal.