Paul Krause grew up on his parents' 10 acre hobby farm 5 miles east of Fond du Lac, WI.  There his parents, Gordon and Rhoda (nee Lau) Krause raised him with his older sister Jeanette and younger brother Harry.

The family were members at Luther Memorial Church in Fond du Lac; it was there that Paul received his elementary school training from 1971-1980.

    From the fall of 1980 to the spring of 1991 Paul attended Immanuel Lutheran High School, College, and Seminary, in Eau Claire, WI, where he met his future wife Collette nee Sieg, whom he married in June 1991.

In the spring of 1991, candidate Paul Krause received his first call assignment to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Hecla, SD, where he served until May 1996.  During those years 3 children were born: Alyssa, Dwight, and Nathaniel.

Beginning that summer of 1996 Paul served the dual parish of St. John's Lutheran Church in Clarkston, WA, and Peace Lutheran Church in Orofino, ID.  Two more children were born during that time: Rebecca and Stephen.

    In September of 2008 Paul accepted the call to Faith Lutheran Church in Markesan, WI, where he served from November 2008 through June 2015.

    He has served the dual parish here at Trinity Lutheran Church, Watertown, SD, and Zion Lutheran Church, Hidewood Township, SD, since July, 2015.

 

Mikkela Schmitt grew up in Wisconsin as the oldest of three siblings. From an early age she wanted to be a teacher; the only question was what kind of teacher! She graduated with a Bachelor's of Education from Immanual Lutheran College in 2020. From 2020-2025 she served as a teacher at St. Stephen Lutheran School in Mountain View, California. In 2023 she married Isaac Schmitt and in 2025 they moved to Watertown, where she became the latest teacher here at Trinity.

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