November 30th
The Weekly Water Buffalo
Volume 27, Issue 9
Interim Office Procedures
Sola Fide’s leadership is still in the hiring process for the administrative assistant role. We do have some volunteers covering some of the hours in that office, but there may be times in the next few weeks when the office is unstaffed. If you are unable to get in contact with the school, please text Mr. Schmiege, Mrs. Lapp, or your child’s classroom teacher. If your child has an appointment and needs to be dropped off late or picked up early, please also text your classroom teacher so that we connect all the dots effectively. Thanks in advance for a little extra patience.
Dig a Well - Christmas Giving Project
One of Sola Fide’s goals for her students is to help them act on God’s call to love those in the world around us. In that vein, we’ve chosen to take up a collaborative giving project at Christmas. Instead of having classroom gift exchanges, we want to direct our thoughts, prayers, and financial support toward helping someone in need.
This December, we have a goal of raising $1000 so that we can fund the installation of a solar powered well in a place where obtaining clean water is a difficult endeavor. We also want to donate a water buffalo (which a family will be able to use to plow fields) so that a family in a different part of the world has a leg up in the fight against poverty and food insecurity. You can learn more about the impact of these donations by reading about the Heifer International Foundation.
We would like you to consider joining us in this effort. If you do, please use it as an opportunity to talk with your children about the blessings that we enjoy, and the way that we can share God’s love when we share our resources with others. If your family decides to donate to this project, you can send cash or a check with your child to Sola Fide, or you can donate online at solafide.com/give. Choose “Christmas Project - Dig a Well”, and your donation will be coupled with those from the other families in the school.
New Feature - Getting to Know You
Sola Fide’s Church is working on some different ways to help people to connect to one another. One thing we’re trying is a “Getting to Know You” section wherein we feature a family in our church or our school. The Pingel family was asked to be the first of those featured. If you’d like to have your family interviewed to be a future featured family, please contact Mr. Schmiege.
Get to Know the Pingels
Do you believe in childhood sweethearts? Well, we have a couple in our midst here at Sola Fide. Tim and Jen Pingel have been married for 15 years and have 4 beautiful girls. Kora is 11, Alexa is 9, Liana is six and the tiniest Pingel, Eliza, is 4 years old.
Tim and Jen grew up in the same neighborhood in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. In elementary school, Tim was friends with Jen’s younger brother and Jen was friends with Tim’s older sister. Their grandmas used to get together on Christmas Eve to exchange gifts and the families grew up carving pumpkins together on Halloween. When Tim was in the fourth grade, he told Jen’s brother he was going to marry her. With the Lord’s help, that came true on June 10th, 2006.
Upon meeting the Pingels, it is easy to see the love they have for our Lord. He is at the forefront of their lives. When asked a specific Bible verse that comes to mind, Tim quickly stated the verse they chose for their wedding. Ecclesiates 4:12 : “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” This verse is such a beautiful reminder of how God works in our lives.
Tim’s love for our Lord guided him to attend MLC in New Ulm where he received a teaching degree. Per Tim, “The Lord is what brought us to Sola Fide,” and Sola Fide Lutheran Academy has indeed been blessed with a fantastic 3rd through 5th grade teacher. Jen is also a big help at the Academy and both of them are working with us to lead the Evangelism committee to spread the Good News of Jesus with as many people as we can.
When the Pingles are not busy at church, they enjoy hiking and going to the beach though you will probably find them with their noses in a book as they ALL love to read. Since they moved to Georgia, they have started a new tradition with the family. On Friday nights, they pick a movie to watch and enjoy pizza together. If you haven’t met the Pingels yet, just say “How ‘bout them Packers?”
Two Christmas Opportunities
All children in the school are about to start preparing for the Academy Christmas Program. Students will rehearse with their classmates during the school day. This Christmas Program will take place at 7:00 PM on Thursday, December 16th,
Students are also welcome to participate in Sola Fide’s Christmas Eve Worship Service. Rehearsals for this singing opportunity will take place after school on Thursday, December 2nd and Thursday, December 9th.
Important Dates
December 16 - Academy Christmas Program - 7p
December 17 - 1p release, no after school care
December 24 - Christmas Eve Worship - 4p and 7p