Halfway There

How time has flown! This weekend marks the halfway point of our time at St. Francis Inn. We have spent five months working, praying, laughing, being humiliated, and generally living a simple but always interesting life. Today I am going to give an update concerning some of the people we wrote about in this blog.
"Mort" (12/30, 2 phone calls) is still coming daily to the Inn. He is living at a shelter and has had some short-term jobs.
"Steve" (12/9, Bathroom Duty and God) is still on the street using drugs. He comes to Mass occasionally, and Mark always gives him a sign of peace.
"Larry" (12/3, How to Say I'm Sorry) beat up one of the guests one evening in front of our house. Mark tried to intervene, to no avail. We called 911 and got the guest to the hospital. "Larry" ran off, and is banned forever from the Inn. Word is that he was wanted by the police for another crime and is somewhere in Maryland.
Johanna and Bishop Gumbleton (11/24, ...by sharing in their struggle for justice)left last Monday for Haiti. Johanna, a nurse practitioner, and 4 other medical workers are doing what they can for the physical needs of those hurt in the horrible earthquake. Bishop Gumbleton is holding funeral services for the dead. They are living in a tent and brought down medical supplies in their suitcases. Their emails describe the devastation as horrendous.
Joe (10/14, Veteran Volunteer) gave us a scare back in November. He didn't come in for about 3 weeks. People called him and went by his house, but he had disappeared. The Inn was called about missed appointments. We called various hospitals in Philadelphia, but there was no word. Finally, a friar who was visiting a hospital in New Jersey was asked to see a patient, and it was Joe. He had been in Camden, visiting a friend, and had collapsed and was taken to the hospital there. After numerous tests, his problem was diagnosed and he returned home. The very next day he was back at the Inn,bagging bread and telling everyone what to do.
In "Courage" (9/10) Mark wrote about two alcoholics who were in our chapel one morning named Danny and Richard. We never saw Richard again, but just yesterday Danny was at the meal. He is attending AA and has been sober for over 4 months. We hope he will be able to continue with his sobriety.