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Our NWFM Team

Bonita
Ledua

Executive Director

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Bera Ledua

Community Connections

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Carolyn
Whatley

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Deanna
Blanchard

Executive Assistant

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Heather
LeQuant

Children

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Johnathan
Beardy

Youth & Young Adults

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Joyce
Hancock

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Our Board of Directors

Raymond
Neckoway

Chairman

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John
Condon

Vice Chairman

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Karl
Janzen

Secretary

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Peggy
Blekkenhorst

Treasurer

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Wes
Carlisle

Board Member

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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

1-807-621-7591
info@northwindfm.org

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Bonita Ledua

Executive Director

Bonita Ledua

Executive Director

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. 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.

Carolyn Whatley

Carolyn has a diverse teaching background, including ESL, home and co-op education, and as an assistant teacher in undergraduate courses. She has facilitated and spoken at a number of retreats and conferences. She is currently a candidate for a Masters of Social Justice at Lakehead University, with a research focus on trauma-informed communities, decolonizing trauma work, and non-indigenous pathways to reconciliation. She and her family have learned a lot as a foster family for the past six years.

These areas of interest inform her involvement with NorthWind Family Ministries. Carolyn first connected with NorthWind through the Competent Caring Course. This led to cooking supper for the Sunday Family Fellowship. She then became a key creator in the development of LifeBuild and became a LifeBuild Coach.

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

Carolyn enjoys spending time with friends and family and is often found chatting over a cup of tea or enjoying the land around her home on the outskirts of Thunder Bay. Carolyn is currently in positional transition.

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!

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.

Johnathan Beardy

Youth and Young Adults Leader

Johnathan Beardy

Youth and Young Adult Leader

Johnathan is the Youth and Young Adult Lead for NorthWind Family Ministries. Johnathan received a degree in business from Lakehead University. He is a Thunder Bay local who calls Bearskin Lake First Nation his community. He formally worked for Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund as Account manager for northern Ontario communities.

Johnathan started volunteering ten years ago with Bera and Bonita Ledua in their ministry at Eagle's Cove Ministry Centre. Johnathan found his passion in working with the First Nations People as he helped operate camps and PlayDays. He added Sunday Family Fellowships and Family Events as the ministry moved into NorthWind. He is now leading youth groups on Fridays and overseeing monthly youth retreats.

Johnathan enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, and when the weather is right, you’ll find him hiking the trails of northern Ontario. His favourite quote from C. S. Lewis shows through his life: “Joy is the serious business of Heaven."

Joyce Hancock

Bera Ledua

Director of Community Connections

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.

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.

Karl Jansen

Secretary

Karl Jansen

Secretary

Karl is a small business owner from the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario. While his business provides his livelihood, he has been involved in various forms of Christian service since earning his bachelor of Theology degree at Ontario Bible College, now Tyndale University. He has a keen interest in youth and mentorship. He has served as a youth pastor, and in many leadership positions in his local church.

In the 1990’s, he worked alongside Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, resulting in a passionate for sharing some of the history of colonialism and the residential schools with other Canadians. 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.

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

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.

Our NWFM Team

Bonita Ledua

Bera Ledua

Carolyn Whatley

Deanna Blanchard

Heather LeQuant

JohnathanBeardy

Joyce Hancock

Our Board of Directors

Raymond Neckoway

John Condon

Karl Janzen

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Wes Carlisle

Contact Us

Building a sacred community of hope and healing.

Bonita Ledua

Bonita Ledua

Bera Ledua

Bera Ledua

Carolyn Whatley

Carolyn Whatley

Deanna Blanchard

Deanna Blanchard

Heather LeQuant

Heather LeQuant

Johnathan Beardy

Johnathan Beardy

Joyce Hancock

Bera Ledua

Raymond Neckoway

Raymond Neckoway

John Condon

John Condon

Karl Jansen

Karl Jansen

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Peggy Blekkenhorst

Wes Carlisle

Wes Carlisle

Bonita
Ledua

Carolyn
Whatley

Deanna
Blanchard

Heather
LeQuant

Johnathan
Beardy

Joyce
Hancock

Raymond
Neckoway

John
Condon

Karl
Janzen

Peggy
Blekkenhorst

Wes
Carlisle