I only ever got to do this one time. About the same time Good Shepherd began its relationship with El Buen Pastor in Honduras 13 or 14 years ago, the parish I served began having mission trips to a school in Tegucigalpa called El Hogar which serves orphans and children from the worst poverty.

El Hogar has three campuses: an elementary school where we stayed and spent most of our time, an agricultural school where 7th to 9th graders learn contemporary farming, animal husbandry and how to farm-raise tilapia, and a technical school where they learn electrical work, carpentry, machine work (making tools and parts) and automotive repair.

The technical school was led by a guy named Lazaro, which is the Spanish version of Lazarus. So when we got there and I saw him for the first time walking towards us but at a distance, I cried out in Spanish, “Lazaro, come out!” He lit up with a big smile and we became instant friends. I saw him and his sons many times in the ensuing years.

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Today’s gospel brings us to Jericho. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world, and it’s also the lowest city in the world, 900 feet below sea level. It’s also along one of the oldest trade routes in the world, connecting Africa to Europe and Asia.

We join Bartimaeus, whose name means “one of the esteemed or honored”. Let’s step into his place on the road out of Jericho heading toward Jerusalem. Although it’s a bright sunny day, it’s completely dark for you because you are blind in a place and time where begging is the way you can survive. You have a cloak. At night it keeps the chill off of you. But the days are hot and dusty.  Your cloak is there to catch the coins people may give you out of mercy. At least your condition is one that does inspire mercy.

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So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

It has been quite a week! All of us had our plans and expectations for the week completely change as hurricane Milton approached, and, almost surprisingly, stayed pretty much on the track that was predicted even before it became organized as a named storm.

We are very much thankful that our area seems to have come through without too much trouble. Lot of limbs down, some trees, lots of debris, and many people were without electricity for varying lengths of time. We are extremely thankful for the cool weather that followed Milton, which made clean up and sleeping more bearable.

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