U r s u l i n e s
A L I V E
Act, Move, Believe continued from page 3
Loyola Catholic Prep in Shreveport welcomed more than 150 students evacuated from the flooded areas. Uniforms above are from Jesuit, Mount Carmel, Ursuline, and Dominican high schools, all in New Orleans. At front left is Loyola principal Frank Israel. The Catholic school system in the Shreveport Diocese includes one high school and three elementary schools in Shreveport and one high school and two elementary schools in Monroe. There is also an early childhood development center in each city.
A New Mission Unable to locate interpreters in the Shreveport area, Sister Carol placed a call to her friend and fellow Ursuline, Sister Larraine Lauter in Owensboro. Sister Larraine, who speaks Spanish fluently, is founder and director of La Plaza Immigrant Community Center in Owensboro. “I e-mailed Sister Carol that I would love to come down and help with the translating,” Sister Larraine recalls. “And when Father Fid [Father Fidelis Levri, a nurse and a Glenmary priest who works at La Plaza] learned of my plans, he said he wanted to come and help.” Mount Saint Joseph provided Sister Larraine with a van — and gas — for her new mission in Louisiana. She began planning her trip, which included a call for financial help and some basic, over-thecounter medical supplies. Sister Mary Jude Cecil, a teacher at St. Mary High School in Paducah, presented Sister Larraine’s call for help at a parent-teacher conference, telling those present that contributions were welcome. A woman at the meeting said she had been collecting baby items for the Katrina victims. Would Sister Larraine take them with her? She also knew of two doctors from Mayfield who had signed up to volunteer in Louisiana and were looking for a way to get there. 4
“When I learned of all this, it dawned on me to do a medical mission,” says Sister Larraine, who has headed a number of medical missions to Honduras in recent years. “It was pretty obvious that God was opening another door to me.” She made contact with Mayfield doctor Melissa Whitson and Sarah Ihrlbeck, a pediatric respiratory therapist, and began putting her medical team together. A number of phone calls and e-mails later, Dr. Jeff Carrico of Mayfield, Arnie LeMay, a hospital engineer from Eminence, Mayra Ambrocio, a nurse from Owensboro and La Plaza, and Letty Mendoza, a translator and registration coordinator from Owensboro and La Plaza, had come to complete the team. “Sister Carol informed us we were no longer needed in Shreveport and that we should go farther south,” said Sr. Larraine. The La Plaza Immigrant Community Center mobile clinic departed for Louisiana on September 6. Following Angela
Mobile medical clinic team members include, front from left, Father Fid Levri, Mayra Ambrocio, Letty Mendoza, and Arnie LeMay. Back row, Dr. Melissa Whitson, Sara Ihrlbeck, Sr. Larraine Lauter, and Dr. Jeff Carrico.
Throughout history, Ursulines have followed Saint Angela’s own actions in understanding and adapting to the signs of the times. These were very difficult times in Louisiana, and Sisters Carol Shively and continued on page 5