A New Location, A New Future

When His Love in Action School for the Deaf first began in 1989, our first home was a formerly abandoned building that had just two rooms. But the rent was free, and from those humble beginnings, a dream was born. After a year the school was able to move to a five room house that was located closer to downtown egucigalpa. Again the rent was free, but with 40 students now attending classes, the school quickly outgrew that building. A friend offered the use of a larger building, also rent free, and the school was on the move again.

There were now over 60 students enrolled in classes. After a few years it was time to move again, this time to our present facility, a fourteen room, two-story building in downtown Tegucigalpa. It is actually a former house that was damaged in the flooding caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. With unofficial reports of as much as 75 inches of rain falling on the country of Honduras, the banks of the Choluteca River quickly overflowed and the building the school now calls home was encased in water and mud up to its 2nd floor.

The location of the current facility, in the heart of downtown Tegucigalpa, makes it very easy for the students to get to the school. Just one bus ride from anywhere in the city brings the students downtown, and then it is just a short walk down to the river to the school. However, the size of the building, and its location, does not allow for the school to grow. By government decree the size of the building limits the school to just 65 students. In early 2007, the school became aware of a potential new facility.

Located just two blocks from the Central Park of Tegucigalpa, and even closer to the city center’s bus transfer station, this new possibility was currently being used by a private school. The owner of the property wanted to sell, yet the school using the facility did not have the resources to purchase it. After much prayer and discussion by the board of His Love in Action, the decision was made to try and purchase this property. Negotiations were entered into with the owner, and a very fair price was agreed upon, as well as terms of payment. But the Lord had a different plan! Shortly before the paperwork was signed, the Lord provided all of the cash that was needed to purchase the property outright. In the summer of 2008, His Love in Action became property owners for the first time. However, the building the school has purchased is over 100 years old, and the former owners did very little maintenance on it over the last few years.

Much work will be required before His Love in Action can begin to use the property. Parts of the building will need to be completely demolished and rebuilt. Other sections will need to have major renovations. The Lord has provided the services of a team of architects and engineers who have already visited the property and made a careful survey of it. They are putting the final touches on the blue prints and it is hoped that very soon the school, with the help of the Lord, short-term mission teams, and supporters like you, will be able to begin construction on the new home of His Love in Action School for the Deaf.

The new facility sits high above the flood plain of the Choluteca River, on the dead end of a guarded street. The size of the property gives it the potential to support up to 200 students, and with its central location to downtown Tegucigalpa, it is hoped that it will offer an opportunity for the deaf of Honduras to learn to communicate, to learn a trade, and to know the love of Jesus Christ, for many years to come.