What is Wilderness Wind?

It is an experience that includes:

• wilderness travel and awareness
• seeking God
• re-examining our relationship with creation
• relationship building
• self-discovery
• solitude
• wildlife
• skill enhancement
• two locations for folks with different needs and interests

Wilderness Wind (WW) offers wilderness experiences for individuals and groups regardless of skill level and experience. We offer canoe trips into the Minnesota Boundary Waters and the Canadian Quetico. Wilderness Wind also has four cabins on Armstrong Lake. Whether you are interested in a canoe trip or staying at the cabins, we work to tailor the experience to the interests and abilities of your group.

In addition, while offering retreats and spiritual experiences, we encourage others to examine their relationship with creation. As Earth sustains all life, and as we believe that God called it into existence out of goodness, we take the last phrase of our mission statement seriously (environmental sustainability). Living sustainably is an important component of our faith expression and we consider our relationship with that which sustains us on a daily basis.

Wilderness Wind is a member of the Mennonite Camping Association.

Who owns Wilderness Wind?

Wilderness Wind is a nonprofit organization operated by a national board of directors. Wilderness Wind Inc. offered its first trip in 1986. The availability of the Lakeside cabins in 1995 broadened the program to include people with varied abilities and interests in wilderness experiences.

Wilderness Wind Board of Directors

John Daniels
	How you spend your time: I spend most of my time as a CFO for a large law firm. I also serve on the board of Global Gifts in Indianapolis and on the Worship Committee at First Mennonite Church. Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana is where I live now, though i grew up all over, including Europe (France and Germany) and the Far East (Korea). Home Congregation: First Mennonite Church in Indianapolis Reason for joining the board: I was looking for an opportunity to serve on a board and chose Wilderness Wind based on the enthusiasm of the other board members despite not having been there before I started on the board. Area of interest: I hope to strengthen the financial reporting. I am also interested in building a monthly donation program. A life goal: I would like to visit Bhutan and I'm interested in building a "green" home to retire to.

Melissa Falb
	How you spend your time: I am an administrator and a member of the piano faculty at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis.  I help manage our extensive summer camp program consisting of all different kinds of genres from classical to hip hop.  When I’m not at work I enjoy cooking, biking, hiking, X-country skiing, going to hear live music and traveling to new places. Hometown: Minneapolis, MN. I'm originally from Orrville, Ohio. Home Congregation: Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis Reason for joining the board:  I started going on WW trips the first summer after I moved to Minnesota.  I appreciated WW’s philosophy of sustainability and care for nature.  Not only did WW give me access to the beauty of creation but they helped teach me the skills I needed to comfortably exist in the wilderness while having little impact on the wilderness. Area of interest: Strategic planning and marketing A life goal: To make every day an adventure

Glenn Gilbert
	How you spend your time: I'm Utilities Manager at Goshen College, chair of the elders at Assembly Mennonite Church, biker, hiker, husband, father, and grandfather. Hometown: Goshen, IN Home Congregation: Assembly Mennonite Fellowship Reason for joining the board: I am personally indebted to WW for the experiences I have had in the Boundary Waters. I believe in the mission and values expressed and lived out by those that have worked hard to enable others to have similar encounters with their Creator and Sustainer. And I'm always open to a good excuse to travel north. Area of interest: All good things worth sustaining require nurture and care. WW is no exception. To the extent that my gifts can enable the vision, I am glad to participate. A life goal: I don't think about goals a lot. I just like to get up in the morning with anticipation and go to bed at night with gratitude.

Beth Landis
	How you spend your time: I work as a nurse practitioner, garden, jog, hike, cook, host guests and maintain relationships. Hometown: Eagle, Idaho Home Congregation: Hyde Park Mennonite Reason for joining the board: After nine canoe trips and experiencing the BWCAW as a magical place, being on the board seemed an appropriate way to give back to the area and to Wilderness Wind. Area of interest: I would like to strengthen Wilderness Wind's relationship to constituents and find new converts to the wilderness. A life goal: My short term goal is to use wisely all the vegetables that come in my CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture) box each week.

Abby Nafziger

How you spend your time: I currently serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA at NPower Northwest located in the city of Seattle. I work with nonprofit leaders to help them find ways to further their mission, engage their audience and tell their story through technology. I also have a Masters in Library and Information Science and enjoy reading, baking, biking, and sitting in coffee shops during my free time. Hometown: Evanston, IL though I also have very strong roots in Goshen, IN and Lancaster, PA Home Congregation: Having just recently moved to Seattle, I am still discerning the options. Reason for joining the board: I went on my first Wilderness Wind trip the summer of 8th grade and went back another 4 times as a youth. Then in the summer of 2010 I got to help co-lead a group of high school students on a trip and that experience helped complete the circle for me and make Wilderness Wind a place that I wanted to get involved with. Area of interest: Online engagement and development A life goal: To spend most of my life in jobs that I am passionate about and only occasionally feel like work.

Paula Northwood
	How you spend your time: During work hours I spend my time as Associate Minister of Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. Otherwise, I hike, bike, kayak, canoe, read mysteries and grandmother Aurora and Azure whenever I can. Hometown: Saint Paul, MN Home Congregation: Plymouth Congregational Church Reason for joining the board: I co-founded Wilderness Wind and have been on the board ever since. I believe in WW's mission to offer wilderness experiences where participants can deepen their spirituality by nurturing a relationship with creation. Area of interest: I am excited about how wilderness trips continue to be transformative and restorative for participants, thus I am committed to looking at how we can most effectively outfit folks for the inner journey. A life goal: To illustrate and write children's books.

Steve Mullet, Board Chair
	How you spend your time: My work time is spent running my own computer consulting and services company. I'm also actively involved in some other businesses with my brother, am chair of Church Council at First Mennonite Sugarcreek, serve on the board of directors at Bluffton University, am a father of two and a husband, to name a few other things. In my free time I enjoy reading, exercise, canoeing, hiking, having theological and political discussions, and working on my golf game. Hometown: Berlin, Ohio Home Congregation: First Mennonite, Sugercreek, Ohio Reason for joining the board: After my first trip in 1995 I realized that the Boundary Waters had a grip on me that would not let go. In our present age we are becoming dangerously alienated from the ecosystems that sustain us and as a result also from God, who has entrusted to us the earth's care. Wilderness Wind provides an antidote of sorts - a vital re-connecting point - and I am grateful to be able to be involved in what I believe is the extremely important work of continuing to make the Wilderness Wind experience available to as many people as possible. Area of interest: I am interested in strengthening and sustaining all aspects of Wilderness Wind as an organization. A life goal: Hmmm, a good question. I don't really have any specific goals in mind. I guess a goal I would have would be for my grandchildren (should I ever have any) to be able to look back on the life of their grandfather and to say that I actually made a difference in making the world a better place.

Dave Ostegren
	How you spend your time: I direct the graduate program in environmental education at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College. I read up on the state of the environment and I write up articles on international national park and protected area management. I love to teach, but I love camping with my two sons more - biking, hiking, canoeing anywhere is fine for us. Hometown: Goshen, IN Home Congregation: Assembly Mennonite, Goshen IN Reason for joining the board: I believe in the mission of Wilderness Wind and although I have not been on a trip I am very interested in participating and supporting the long-term health of Wilderness Wind. It is an exciting time to join. Area of interest: I am broadly interested in recruiting more people to participate in Wilderness Wind. I think the audience can expand and the long term goal is to spread creation care to many churches - that we all need to contribute to the health of the earth. A life goal: Spending a month at a national marine protected area in Cuba. Taking a three week canoe trip with my sons.

Brenda Sawatsky Paetkau
	How you spend your time: I am on the pastoral team at Eighth Street Mennonite Church. Through this work and participation in family life, friendships, exercise, reading, there is plenty of time to enjoy life, work hard, cry some, and explore the way I want to live in this world. Hometown: Goshen, IN Home Congregation: 8th Street Mennonite Church, Goshen Reason for joining the board:  I am convinced that Wilderness Wind offers a "contemplative" camping experience. The rhythm of rest, hard work, and simplicity creates openness to "see" God's intention for creation and humanity. I affirm this approach and want Wilderness Wind to become accessible to more people. I affirm this approach and want Wilderness Wind to embody this "contemplative" way as an organization. To both ends, I am happy to join this Board. Area of interest: I believe that pre-trip preparation and post-trip reflection are key for allowing the wisdom offered in the wisdom to sink more deeply into ourselves and the world. A life goal:  To keep belly laughing.

Kevin Wilder
	How you spend your time: Hometown: Home Congregation: Reason for joining the board: Area of interest: A life goal: