NDMU Students Experience Sisters’ Ministry at Caroline House

Participants from Notre Dame of Maryland University experienced the first Mission Awareness Process (MAP) program at Caroline House/Villa Notre Dame. The students lived with the sisters at Villa Notre Dame for the week, while traveling each day to work at Caroline House in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from March 31- April 4, 2019. The group consisted of:

  • Allison Trumpler, a sophomore and Elementary Special Ed Major
  • Bria Foster, a sophomore and Modern Foreign Languages Major (Spanish and Arabic)
  • Johnitta Amihere, a sophomore and Biology Major

Throughout the experience the group was accompanied by Linda Stilling, SSND, a professor at the university.




Day 1

Greetings from Villa Notre Dame in Wilton, Connecticut!

Our names are Bria, Allison, and Johnitta and we are students from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Together with Sister Linda we are embarking on a journey of service for this week. We are living here with the SSNDs and will be doing our service trip at Caroline House in Bridgeport, Connecticut, starting tomorrow!




Day 2

Today was our first time at the Caroline House and the number of amazing individuals we met was astounding. Takina, one of the ESL teachers, stood out as a young person in the community making an impact with her work with the women as well as with the children in the after-school program. We were able to walk with her to get the children from the nearby school and we saw the general condition of the neighborhood. It became immediately clear to us that the Caroline House is a beacon of light for this community.




Day 3


Hello, it’s Allison, Bria, and Johnitta back again for our second exciting day at the Caroline House in Bridgeport, Connecticut!

Today we did another round of our lessons and taught the women English in relation to job interviews, doctor’s appointments and emergencies. Then we worked in the day care with the children of the immigrant women. We made a little mess planting sunflower seeds (the mothers don’t know that it’ll be their Mother’s Day gift). Later, we had the mothers come in for "Mommy and Me" session in which the mothers and children read a book together.

What a busy day!





Day 4


Hey! It’s Bria, Allison, and Johnitta back again with our final day in Wilton, Connecticut. Today we spent time with the sisters in Lourdes Healthcare Center at Villa Notre Dame. We had a fantastic time spending the afternoon listening to the sisters amazing stories after teaching our final lessons at Caroline House. We learned about the lives of the sisters and the incredible things that they have accomplished.