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Our NWFM Team

Bonita
Ledua

Executive Director

Registered Psychotherapist

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Bera Ledua

Director of
Community Connections

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Wes Carlisle

Director of
Administration

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Deanna
Blanchard

Executive Assistant

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Joyce
Hancock

Adult Spiritual Growth

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Sue Carlisle

Learning Centre

Tom Valtiera

Learning Centre

Jeremy
Darrow

Next Generation

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Julie McKenna

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

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Carolyn Whatley

Counsellor

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Kendra Edwards

Heather
LeQuant

Next Generation – North

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Janika Polkki

Alissa Darrow

Administrative Assistant – Counselling

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Norma Nelder

Receptionist

Shaylene Janzen

LifeBuild Head Coach

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Corianna Ranta

Cooking For Life Coordinator

Truman Hatt

Naomi Lomavatu

Stephanie Luinstra

Joshua Heath

Natasha Vanderkruk

Caleb MacCallum

Daniel Hsieh

Karl Janzen

Ministry Partnership Coordinator

View bio

Justin Hiebert

Facility Manager

Erika Weiher

Custodian

Anna Maunula

Our Board of Directors

Raymond
Neckoway

Chairman

View bio

John
Condon

Vice Chairman

View bio

Peggy
Blekkenhorst

Treasurer

View bio

Wes
Carlisle

Board Member

View bio

John Andres

Board Member

Contact Us

If you have questions about how NorthWind Family Ministries can be of help to you, or someone you know, please do not hesitate to fill out the form below and someone will be in contact with you shortly.

Building a sacred community of hope and healing.

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 10648
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6V1

1-807-622-5837
info@northwindfm.org

Physical Addresses:
138 May Street South
Thunder Bay, ON P7E 1B3

141 May Street South
Thunder Bay, ON P7E 1A9

Quick Links

Bonita Ledua

Executive Director

Registered Psychotherapist

Bonita Ledua

Executive Director, Registered Psychotherapist

Bonita and her husband, Bera, founded NorthWind Family Ministries, where she serves as the Executive Director and as a Marriage and Family Counsellor. God founded a calling and passion for this ministry in Bonita when she was ten years old. She began teaching children at 14, became a Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) missionary at 15, and started serving in a cross-cultural capacity at 16 with Youth With a Mission. She now brings over 30 years of experience to the ministry and has lived and worked with numerous Indigenous tribes in three provinces.

Bonita remembers her time in an isolated reserve in central British Columbia as a place of growth and of being-with others through some of their most painful experiences. Her vision to establish centres for families needing healing and hope began. Bonita and Bera, together with the local communities, established two centres: Eagle’s Nest (located in Northern Alberta) and Eagle’s Cove (outside of Thunder Bay).

Bonita completed an MA in Marriage and Family Counselling and became a registered psychotherapist. As a part of her leadership in NorthWind’s counselling centre, she leads crisis-counselling teams to Northern Indigenous communities struggling through suicide epidemics.

Bonita has a passion to equip people to care well for others. She teaches listening skills and empowers others in supportive roles. She has been teaching counselling skills to church and community leaders for over ten years.
Bonita champions whole-life growth programs and believes in the value of providing safe places for people as they heal from their hurts, develop a healthier version of themselves, and grow in their relationships with God and others.
Many years ago, Bonita said she wanted to live on the edge with God; life has never been the same! She lives out Henry Blackaby’s quote: “Look to see where God is working and join Him.”

Bera Ledua

Director of Community Connections

Bera Ledua

Director of Community Connections

Bera grew up in a tribal culture in Fiji. He served as an employee with the Fijian government for six years prior to resigning in 1979 to do volunteer religious work. He served as a grade seven to eleven religious-education teacher for a couple of years and worked as a Youth Leader for a Methodist Church circuit, which included twelve churches, prior to his military service. He completed three six-month tours with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, where he served as an associate lay pastor with B Company in addition to his infantry military duties. He helped soldiers in their spiritual walk, had weekly Bible studies and visited soldiers at the Regimental Aid Post. Bera trained and served with several ministries, including three boat/yacht ministries. These include: CEF, World Open Air Campaigners, Every Home Crusade, the Bible Society of the South Pacific, Campus Crusade for Christ, Dayspring Ministries, Haggi Boat Ministries, Christian Small Boat Ministries, YWAM, and Overseas Mission.

Bera came to Canada in 1988 to work as a missionary among Canada’s Indigenous People. He served in a remote village in British Columbia and then worked in northern Alberta to establish a ministry centre which involved many Reserves. Bera and his wife, Bonita, established the Eagles’ Cove Ministry Centre outside of Thunder Bay and eventually founded NorthWind Family Ministries. Bera loves people and enjoys coffee time or engaging in healthy sports activities, such as boxing. He is a natural-born evangelist, and he brings both passion and compassion to any ministry endeavor.

One of Bera’s hobbies is to play match maker in prayer. He says he has seen 30 couples from his list make solid, Godly marriages. He likes praying for young people and asks God to guide their lives. As a loving parent of four adult children, he cares about young people and their future spouses.

Wes Carlisle

Director of Administration

Wes Carlisle

Director of Administration

Wes has a BA in Business Administration, with an accounting emphasis, from the University of Montana. He is a certified public accountant (US). Before retirement, he worked for 18 years as the business administrator in three churches—in Saskatoon, Toronto, and Mississauga. Before that, he worked in public accounting for CA and CPA firms. His experience with churches and charities, administration, strategic planning, policy development, human resources, IT, facilities, and relationships within governing boards became useful as NorthWind began operating as a Canada Non-Profit Corporation and a Canadian Registered Charity. He became part of the board of directors to walk alongside the team of people as they established NorthWind’s foundational policies and systems.

Wes and his wife, Sue, retired to Thunder Bay to help Bera and Bonita Ledua in their ministry. He values NorthWind’s mission and enjoys developing friendships through the Sunday Gathering where he participates as a van driver and teacher. He appreciates interaction with camp and program teams and participants.

Thunder Bay is a small city that feels more like a small town to Wes. He appreciates the natural wonders outside of Thunder Bay and likes nature walks, picnics and photography.

Deanna Blanchard

Executive Assistant

Deanna Blanchard

Executive Assistant

Deanna grew up in Southern Manitoba and has been involved in Church ministry her whole life. Deanna and her husband, an Anglican pastor, have served in many communities across Canada. They spent three months in Chisasibi, Quebec, a Cree community on the eastern shore of James Bay, where her husband completed a summer internship as a pastor in training.

Deanna worked as a music director for St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Surrey, BC for five years. She also held the position of office manager at Birch Wellness Centre in Winnipeg, a private multidisciplinary practice that focuses on mental health and wellness.

She and her husband currently serve at St. Thomas Anglican Church in Thunder Bay. She is involved with the music ministry, women’s ministry and leads Bible studies. She participates with the Family Giving Center, a ministry of her church, which provides groceries, clothing, household supplies, pet supplies and a free lunch twice a month to those in need in the Westfort community. She began with NorthWind Family Ministries in May 2019 as a part-time executive assistant.

Deanna enjoys making her home a welcoming and comfortable place to serve and bless others. She also loves to sing and worship. She frequently video chats with her son, daughter, and son-in-law who live in Winnipeg, and visits family when she can!

Joyce Hancock

Joyce Hancock

Adult Spiritual Growth

Joyce has been involved in ministry for many years. She taught Christian education at First Baptist Church in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for eight years, taught the children of missionaries in a house school in Indonesia for four years and worked with marginalized youth, street ministry, drug and alcohol rehab, and community building for twenty-one years in Brazil. Joyce became acquainted with NorthWind Family Ministries through a Competent Caring Course. She liked NorthWind’s approach of coming alongside Indigenous people.

Joyce enjoys her involvement with Bible studies and discipleship, especially with women. She has the opportunity to develop friendships, share her faith, and join their journey of Christian growth. Her favourite quote is from 2 Corinthians 2:15: For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

Joyce is working on a doctor of ministry program with an emphasis on Indigenous Studies. She enjoys hiking and traveling, and she has visited five continents and hopes to visit the last two some day.

Jeremy Darrow

Next Generation

Jeremy Darrow

Next Generation

Jeremy grew up enjoying the St John River Valley in rural New Brunswick. As a born farmer, he developed a love for plants of all kinds while working in the family based business known as Jolly Farmer. There he learned lots about the processes of developing healthy roots on young unrooted cuttings.

This growing process prepared him for a major turn of events when in the early summer of 2019 he left the business through a call from God. He moved across the country to relocate in Thunder Bay where he felt God calling him to work with a new church plant in the city. He had been to the city in earlier years and certain situations moved him to learn more about the struggles of the Indigenous people; he felt a strong tug to be involved. It was not long before he became a part-time employee of NorthWind Family Ministries.

Today he hopes to grow something new! If not plants, which he still loves, he hopes that with God’s help he can journey with people as they grow.

He loves the people, the bush, the lakes and the sunsets and sunrises of Thunder Bay. As he met his wife here in the city, he expects that at least for a good while…he’s around to stay!!

Julie McKenna

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Julie McKenna

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Julie works as a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) at Northwind, aiming to provide a culturally safe, strengths-based, trauma informed practice that allows for healing and change within the client’s worldview.

Julie is experienced in a diverse range of mental health areas and works with individuals and groups of all ages and backgrounds. Areas of focus include recovery from symptoms of trauma, abuse and neglect, depression and anxiety, grief and loss, addictions, disordered eating habits, body image issues, and relationship struggles. Her recent training in Expressive Arts Therapies (Level 1 & 2 Certificate) allows her to offer clients space to use a variety of expressive modalities including visual art, mixed media, music, creative writing, play and drama in their healing journey. She is committed to ongoing professional development in the psychotherapy field, with a particular interest how continued discoveries in neuroscience can inform and support her practice.

Julie grew up in Sydney, Australia. She bumped into her future husband Peter (from Thunder Bay), on a hike in the Australian bush. She moved to Thunder Bay in 1989 to marry and work as a high school teacher in Science and Family Studies (primarily Food and Nutrition Sciences) for 25 years, retiring in 2015. In 2017, she was able to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a counsellor/ therapist (she completed her M.A. in Counselling from Providence Seminary in 2009), joining first Ishaawin and then transitioning to Northwind Counselling Services as a part-time counsellor.
Julie is passionate about providing a safe place that allows others to grow and heal; to help people move from surviving to thriving. Past experience in the mental health field includes facilitating Celebrate Recovery (a support group) in Thunder Bay, as well as helping establish and facilitate the Natural Helpers peer counselling program in high schools across the city. In addition, Julie was a board member of New Life Ministries Thunder Bay and worked as program staff in the women’s program at Hope House providing emotional, mental, physical and spiritual support for clients.

Julie enjoys art of all kinds, reading, and is actively involved in the pickleball community. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends, both near and far.

Carolyn Whatley

Carolyn Whatley

Carolyn is a graduate of the Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy program at Briercrest Seminary, as well as holding an MA in Social Justice Studies from Lakehead University. Her educational qualifications reflect her joint passions of supporting people wholistically on their healing journey and holding safe spaces for recovery from experiences of marginalization, oppression, and other sources of suffering and trauma. Carolyn is also pursuing certification as a Spiritual Director with the Epiphany Association. Her areas of specialization and research include trauma-informed care, trauma recovery and education, spiritual formation across the lifespan, and social justice education. Carolyn offers various training seminars and workshops in numerous topics related to spirituality, social justice, trauma informed communities, and personal and group wellness.

Carolyn is a wife and mother and enjoyed many years of homeschooling, foster parenting with Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, and church planting before returning to graduate school full-time.

Her favourite quote influences her life: “Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.” – Henri Nouwen

Heather LeQuant

Children’s Ministry Leader

Heather LeQuant

Children’s Ministry Leader

Heather grew up in the far-eastern province of our great country, Newfoundland! She comes from a family of five, right in the middle of two brothers. She grew up in church and hasn’t really left Children’s Ministry since she was a kid herself. When Heather began attending youth, she also became involved in Children’s Ministry. Following the call of God, she attended Bible College where she received a Bachelor of Theology with a major in Children’s Ministry. Heather worked in her church in the summers, running camps and assisting the Children’s Pastor.

Heather came to love the Indigenous peoples of Canada through a professor who talked about a people group that he loved and about his mission work. Combining that with her passion for children, God led her to where she is today. As a Missions Canada worker, from the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, Heather has begun her journey with NorthWind Family Ministries as the Children’s Ministry Team Lead. Words from a sermon she heard several years ago encourage her: “You don’t need a complete road map to be in the center of God’s will.”

Heather loves exploring, playing board games, studying Myers Briggs, and doing whatever it takes to make someone laugh.

Alissa Darrow

Administrative Assistant – Counselling

Alissa Darrow

Administrative Assistant – Counselling

Alissa was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario; she grew up on a dairy farm in the Slate River Valley where she learned to value family, take responsibility, use a solid work ethic, and have respect and patience for others.

She has three beautiful children, Ethan, Hannah and Andrew. She loves to support them in their sports and school activities. She enjoys soccer, curling, volleyball, gardening, dinner and coffee with friends and family time.

She has a passion to help others and hopes to pursue counselling in the future. Her family and friends describe her as open, thoughtful, generous, relatable, supportive, and an excellent listener. She has a genuine heart and loves to connect with others in meaningful ways.

Alissa testifies to the goodness and faithfulness of God in her life; her favourite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’.

Shaylene Janzen

Life Build Head Coach

Shaylene Janzen

Life Build Head Coach

Shaylene grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba as the middle child. With being the middle child, she made sure her voice was heard and her presence known. She developed a great love for being outdoors as a young child, often tobogganing in the winter and camping with her family or spending time at the local beaches in the summer. It was not until she came to know God, as a late teenager, that she realized that she fully connected with God and felt His presence in nature.

She spent her high school summers at a Bible camp where leaders trained her to lead youth. That experience provided her the training she needed and fed her desires to continue leading in different capacities.

Since moving to Thunder Bay in 2009, to be with Dave, her husband to be. Shaylene took hold of multiple opportunities to continue expanding her knowledge and exercising her leadership skills and heart. She participated in leading a ministry for Moms of three-year-olds and has led Sunday school classes and organized events. She came to know NorthWind through a Competent Caring course she attended. Shaylene has a deep passion to come alongside individuals who have experienced trauma or loss and are walking in their healing journeys.

When Shaylene is not at work, she spends quality time with her growing family in the bush, exploring and discovering the great beauty within the NorWestern Mountains and Lake Superior. It is never ending. You can also find her at the local coffee shops investing into her friendships over a cup of tea or a walk/hike outdoors.

Karl Janzen

Ministry Partnership Coordinator

Karl Janzen

Ministry Partnership Coordinator

Karl is a former small business owner from the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario. He has been serving on staff at NorthWind since 2020, but, prior to that, he was a board member since its inception. He holds a Bachelor of Theology degree and has many years of experience in various church leadership positions, including seven years as a youth pastor.

He has been volunteering alongside Canada’s Aboriginal peoples for approximately thirty years. As a result, he has become passionate about sharing the history of colonialism and the residential schools with other Canadians to help them better understand the root of the continuing suffering among Indigenous people. He is optimistic about the difference an organization like NorthWind can make when like-minded people strive together to bring about change.

Karl and his wife, Janet, live in St. Catharines, Ontario, have two married children and enjoy spending time with their two grandsons.

Raymond Neckoway

Chairman

Raymond Neckoway

Chairman

Raymond is from Fox Lake Cree First Nation in northern Manitoba. He moved to Thunder Bay in 1989. He has been a faculty member at Lakehead University since 1999. There was a two-year period where he taught at Memorial University of Newfoundland from 2010-2012. He returned to Lakehead in 2012 to be a part of the School of Social Work where he served as the Director of the School.

Raymond enjoys Thunder Bay and its surroundings for the many people and friends he has come to know and the plentiful outdoor activities he enjoys. He became involved with NorthWind to support Bera and Bonita. He appreciates NorthWind’s involvement in many aspects of the lives of Indigenous Peoples, such as, outdoor activities at Eagle’s Cove, counseling, visiting people in their homes, involvement with youth, and the weekly Gathering. He appreciates how the ministry is a conduit for others to participate as well.

John Condon

Vice Chairman

John Condon

Vice Chairman

John Condon is the Chief Flight Instructor at Confederation College. John is a director, producer and actor in dramatic productions at Redwood Park Church in Thunder Bay. John actively volunteers with NorthWind in Children’s camp in the summer and as part of construction work teams. He also prepares one supper a month for the Sunday Gathering.

John loves the outdoors and gets out canoeing and other outdoor actives in the beautiful areas around Thunder Bay.

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Treasurer

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Treasurer

Peggy, a Registered Nurse, worked in Public Health delivering educational programs and media campaigns on health promotion and disease prevention. She retired from Public Health and now contracts with Lakehead University School of Nursing as a clinical instructor. Peggy was born on a dairy farm outside of Thunder Bay. She has lived her life in rural settings and enjoys cross-country skiing, gardening, and walks with her husband, Berend.

Peggy enjoys the beauty of Lake Superior and the view of the Sleeping Giant. Both remind her of Canada’s Indigenous peoples who willingly shared their land resources with the early settlers only to receive brokenness in return. Peggy first learned of this brokenness while working with youth as a Public Health Nurse. She attended a display giving the history of the residential schools in Canada and was shocked to learn how the Government, in an attempt to ‘civilize’ Indigenous people, forcefully removed children from their families, stripped them of their language and culture, and mistreated them badly. This resulted in intergenerational trauma, which still effects their health, social and family structure, educational attainment, and unemployment today.

Peggy’s compassion for the welfare of Aboriginal people drew her to NorthWind Family Ministries. She began volunteering at some of the outreach programs delivered within the city and at Eagle’s Cove and then agreed to serve on NorthWind’s board of directors. She feels that NorthWind’s programs will help heal the brokenness and restore a better quality of life for the Indigenous people.

Wes Carlisle

Board Member

Wes Carlisle

Board Member

Thunder Bay is a small city that feels more like a small town to Wes. He appreciates the natural wonders outside of Thunder Bay and likes nature walks, picnics and photography.

Our NWFM Team

Bonita Ledua

Bera Ledua

Wes Carlisle

Deanna Blanchard

Joyce Hancock

Sue Carlisle

Tom Valtiera

JeremyDarrow

Julie McKenna

Carolyn Whatley

Kendra Edwards

Heather LeQuant

Janika Polkki

Alissa Darrow

Norma Nelder

Shaylene Janzen

Corianna Ranta

Truman Hatt

Naomi Lomavatu

Stephanie Luinstra

Joshua Heath

Natasha Vanderkruk

Caleb MacCallum

Daniel Hsieh

Karl Janzen

Justin Hiebert

Erika Weiher

Anna Maunula

Our Board of Directors

Raymond Neckoway

John Condon

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Wes Carlisle

John Andres

Contact Us

Building a sacred community of hope and healing.

Bonita Ledua

Bonita Ledua

Bera Ledua

Bera Ledua

Wes Carlisle

Wes Carlisle

Deanna Blanchard

Deanna Blanchard

Joyce Hancock

Joyce Hancock

Jeremy Darrow

Jeremy Darrow

Julie McKenna

Julie McKenna

Carolyn Whatley

Carolyn Whatley

Heather LeQuant

Heather LeQuant

Alissa Darrow

Alissa Darrow

Shaylene Janzen

Shaylene Janzen

Karl Janzen

Karl Janzen

Raymond Neckoway

Raymond Neckoway

John Condon

John Condon

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Wes Carlisle

Wes Carlisle

Bonita
Ledua

Deanna
Blanchard

Joyce
Hancock

Jeremy
Darrow

Heather
LeQuant

Raymond
Neckoway

John
Condon

Peggy
Blekkenhorst

Wes
Carlisle