Leeybi worked to make His Love in Action Deaf School a success and a blessing in Tegucigalpa. She had been the director for a while under Carmen Linder, the founder of His Love in Action (HLA) and the Deaf school. Leeybi had great respect for Carmen because of all she had accomplished.
Through the ministry of HLA, Carmen pioneered the work of ministering to Deaf and other Disabled people in Honduras. She helped develop a sign language for Honduras. Her Deaf school graduates helped enact legislation that has changed the way Disabled individuals receive care and has ensured their needs are met. Graduates started other Deaf schools and Deaf churches which had not existed before.
In the past, Deaf people in Honduras had not received any education as they were frequently hidden away, and their families were ashamed and uncertain of how to deal with them. Carmen and HLA changed all of that. So Leeybi was happy to direct the work at the Deaf School.
A Tragedy Happens
Then she heard the terrible news. Carmen had passed away suddenly without training anyone to take over the ministry. Leeybi learned that the responsibility of the ministry, His Love in Action, would fall on her shoulders!
Without preparation, she stepped in to keep the ministry running and moving forward. Leeybi was at a disadvantage as she only spoke Spanish, and Carmen knew English and Spanish. Working with American donors would be a more significant challenge for Leeybi. Carmen lived in the US, where she had access to friends who were large donors to the ministry. When Carmen passed away, they stopped sending support.
Then, about six months after Carmen died, the American Board for His Love in Action told Leeybi they would be stepping back from their involvement. The board members needed to attend to family needs.
Encouragement Comes
Leeybi met with Renee Lilly, the Regional Director of Latin America for ANM, in their regular Zoom meeting. She shared that she needed prayer because of the bad news she had received. When Renee followed up, she heard about the board’s decision. Soon after, Renee was able to visit to encourage Leeybi. A donor went with Renee and gave funds for some of the school’s needs. The visit and the funds were a great encouragement to Leeybi.
Leeybi continued to attend the Zoom meetings with ANM missionaries, where Renee invited her to participate in a conference in Guatemala that Renee had organized. Renee shared with me that the missionaries minister to others and do not take weekends or days off, which is why she organized the conference. They rarely get a vacation or a break from the ministry. They have people calling on them spiritually, emotionally, and financially. Understandably, missionaries like Leeybi get burned out as they have no one to talk to who can sympathize with them and understand the pressures they face. It is rare for someone to pray for them and their needs.
A Time of Refreshing
Renee felt led last year to organize a conference in Guatemala to refresh and encourage the Latin American missionaries like Leeybi. She planned times of rest, exercise, fellowship, and networking for the attendees, along with prayer, worship, and ministry. This year, she had a special speaker who spoke into the lives of the missionaries individually and to the whole conference.
Leeybi and two other workers from HLA arrived in Guatemala, seeking a much-needed spiritual recharge. Leeybi later shared with Renee, “Every part of the conference was refreshing for me.” The impact was profound, with all three missionaries feeling that the conference was truly life-changing. One missionary even expressed, “I encountered God in a way I have never experienced before this conference.” They returned to Honduras with renewed enthusiasm, eager to witness the transformation God would bring to HLA.
Improving His Love in Action Ministry
Renee was excited to share that since the conference, Leeybi has come up with new and creative ways to fundraise for HLA and new ways to minister. For example, Carmen had built a second story onto the Deaf school before she died. It is a safe place to meet with a vast event room. One staff member suggested renting the room to churches for events. Another innovation is selling items made by Deaf students in their vocational training classes. The Deaf students go to the town squares, dance, and share the Gospel with hearing people. Renee was amazed to hear that even the Japanese embassy has expressed interest in helping with teachers salaries or possibly a vehicle for the school. Leeybi is praying they will decide to invest in the lives of the students.
God is working in unusual ways to see the ministry’s needs met. Seeing Leeybi go from feeling she could not handle the ministry’s needs to eagerly initiating new ways to serve and fundraise was a blessing.
You can help encourage a missionary and change a ministry through prayer. Download the 7 Days of Prayer for Missionaries guide to learn ways to pray. Financial donations also bless ministries. You can donate online and after selecting the amount, select 180HLA to send the funds to His Love in Action.
