The Right Tools Make all the Difference

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As a woodworker, you get to know your tools well. You need to know what they can do, what they can’t do, and how to make sure they are ready when you need them.  Some tools you will use only once or twice a year, some every day. Some have very specific uses and are complicated (like a Rabbet Plane) and some are basic ones that you use in a lot of different projects (like a mallet). Ultimately you need the right tools for the right job.  And that is why the best woodworking advice I have ever received is “The right tool makes all the difference”.

When it comes to supporting the places you love that advice still rings true. So, when it comes to the tools of generosity, instead of heading to my local hardware store, I called Joe.

Joe Sullivan is the ELCA Gift Planner and one of the resources we turn to when churches or families are looking for the right giving tool. Joe assists Lutheran congregations in growing a culture of intentional generosity and financial stewardship to expand the ministries of the ELCA locally, nationally and globally. Joe also provides individual donors with confidential, free consultation on a wide variety of charitable giving options. He serves mostly in western Minnesota and the Metro area.  However, he also makes his way to western Wisconsin often. This makes him a wonderful resource for LWLBC and for people who are looking for tools to help them give to God’s mission at Camp Wapo, Ox Lake, Wilderness Canoe Base.

I was able to reach Joe via Zoom and we had a great discussion about the tools that make giving easier. I thought I would share some of his wisdom here.

 “Planned giving means everything that is more complicated than writing a check or giving cash.” 

Ill bet you have never had the offering plate passed in front of you and caught yourself thinking, “I wonder if I could put 40 acres of farmland in there?” That’s not really what that tool is designed for, it’s designed for you to give checks or cash. But there certainly are ways to give property like land, cabins, vehicles, even grain or livestock.  When people want to give something different than just cash, they need to have a discussion about the tools of planned giving.

“There are different tools depending on when and how you want to give.”

Donors can give gifts of stock. Especially in a very fluid market, this might be a very beneficial way of supporting the camp. Stock can be gifted by simply calling your broker.  At certain ages, your options increase. Those of us who are in our 60s and 70s have options to look at our IRAs. Check with your financial advisor or tax professional about the potential to use a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), or a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) to increase your options and your level of generosity.

One of the more popular ways to give is to give through a Donor Advised Fund. A DAF can be set up using a variety of assets, can have great tax advantages, and may allow you to give larger gifts at certain times. More than 2 million DAFs have been created in just the past 5 years.

“You can be a hero for the camps even after you are gone.”

We all aspire to do good things for the organizations we love. Many people are using bequests to unleash generosity after they pass away. Maybe it’s a set amount of your estate, or maybe a percentage. Most bequests are revocable, which means they can be changed, cancelled, or updated at any time. Giving in this way can be transformational for the camp and for the donor. And their flexibility means that you can customize and rework the plan if your situation changes.

“Your pledge or commitment to the camp is good stewardship practice.  It tells the organization ‘I have set a place aside for you’.”

Charitable Remainer Trusts and Retained Life Trusts are great ways to both give now and later, and depending on the situation, may double as a source of income for you and your family. Even if you don’t share or even know the details of a trust, just sharing your intent to make a gift helps the camp know how important the mission is to you and your family.

Nurturing a culture of generosity in your family and in your faith, community happens when you pair the right tools with the right task. If you would like to know more about what gifts to use, we encourage you to reach out to your financial advisor. You or your congregation should also reach out to Joe Sullivan. He knows a lot about the tools of giving and which tool could be the best for your project.

Thank you for spending time in your toolbox and for all the places and ministry you build with it.

You can email Joe Sullivan, Joe.Sullivan@elca.org, and ask him about what giving tools are best for you.

For simple answers to the sometimes complicated ways of giving to the camps, please visit our website resource page and click on “IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution and Stock Gift Instructions” or just give us a call.

See you at camp!

Joel Abenth
Director of Donor Engagement
JoelA@CampWapo.org

 

Monthly Giving and Wood Carving: Practice Makes Perfect!

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Camp Impact Report 2025

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What a year of wonderful ministry! Click here to read more.

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Paddle it Forward Reflection 3

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For a number of years, the September canoe trip began and ended at Tuscarora Lodge, owned by former Wilderness staffers Andy and Susan Ahrendt. Often I would call Sue and ask for recommendations on where we should go that year.

In 2007 her immediate response was to tell me that the water was unseasonably high and we should consider taking the Frost River.
I had been on the Frost a few years before with the youth from my church in Racine. Ryan Larson was our guide that year and urged us to take the Frost. Even though the Frost River winds its way through a swamp, the valley itself is incredibly beautiful.
I remember two special things from that trip. First, as we departed Frost Lake and headed north weaving our way through the swampy path, Kristin, who was in the bow of my canoe began to whine as she was forced to step out onto a spongy bog to get through. As a pastor who always promised my kids they would never confuse me with Jesus on a canoe trip, I said, “ Kristin, don’t piss me off today”. The others heard it and that became the phrase for the rest of the trip. When we got back they presented me with a cap which had a canoe on the front and the words Don’t Piss Me Off on the back. I spent three years going on trips with that same marvelous group of kids.
The other thing I remember is that in the middle of the Frost is a portage, about 40 or 50 rods that has an uncommonly steep rise right in the middle of the portage with some tricky footing as one descends. When we got to that point, there stood Ryan at the top saying, “let’s just pass these canoes down, should we?” Many guides would have simply let the group gut it through. It wasn’t overly difficult. But we were also probably 2+ days from a road head. I had always respected Ryan. What makes a  great guides is not machismo, but care for the group and knowing where you are.
As to the September trip, 2007 was the second year five of us had been together. This year it was just the five of us. Usually we loved to have a Wilderness guide with us, mostly to keep us in touch with what was going on in the life of the camp.
The five of us became the constants, the core of the group for the next several years and friends for life.
We put in at the Cross River, made it down to Frost Lake where we had a good bout of rain and then headed up the Frost River on a cloudy day. And yes, the water was high. We had to search for many of the portage entrances, sometimes having to wade through running water to get to them. We even managed to take a 10 rod portage into a wrong lake…whoops.
The day got long. The sun never came out and we never made it to Little Sag as we had planned. We ended up camping on a small lake, (Clove?)toward the end of the river. Still nestled in a beautiful valley, dog tired but feeling that peace had wrapped its arms around us, we sat for the longest time laughing and talking. I think that was a signature moment in our group building which extended far beyond a canoe trip.
We spent a night on Little Sag….waded though more water to get to Tuscarora Lake. Encouraged each other over the 480 rod portage out of Tuscarora. After the celebratory moment of finishing Tuscarora , you sort of forget that the portage from Missing Link into Round is no cupcake either.
We didn’t care….we were having fun.
Paz, Jeff

Paddle It Forward Reflection 2

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Make no mistake…I love the Boundary Waters beyond measure…so many of the great things that have happened in my life have happened there.

At the same time, I have always said that if the BWCA is the church…Quetico Provincial Park is the cathedral. Farther removed from population centers it gets about one third the traffic of the BWCA and has remained remarkably pristine.
In 2002 seven of us ventured into Quetico, heading from Saganaga Lake to Lake Kawnipi. Kawnipi is a 15 mile long lake which connects the Fall’s Chain to the Poet’s Chain on the great Hunter’s Island circle. But like a spider it also has many legs (not sure there are 8) which branch off from the main body.
That year we took one of those spider legs and branched off to the east toward MacKenzie Lake, a place rich in native history where we spent a splendid night of peaceful existence and joy.
The next day we headed north into Ferguson Lake, a beautiful lake which felt entirely off the grid. From there our plan was to portage from Ferguson to the Cache River and then head back west into Kawnipi.
The Ferguson portage was far more than we expected. I want to say it was 200-300 rods which went through a swamp. At one point, Patty Peters sunk up to her knee in muck and had to remove her pack to get unstuck. Thankfully she tied her shoes well or we would still be trying to retrieve her boot.
When we finally got to the end of the portage (a few days later we encountered a Canadian forest service group who told us that portaged had been closed), we thought we had arrived.
The map indicated 2 or 3 small portages, perhaps even lift overs, which would lead us back to Kawnipi. But the water was low and so 2 or 3 quickly became 10 or 12. We also got a strong rainstorm which complicated everything.
After a long, long afternoon we finally made it back to Kawnipi. We thought we had arrived!!
Kristen Nielsen was in the bow as we exited the portage. Suddenly she turned around and said, “There is no water in this bay”
Well, there was water, about 6 inches to a foot of water. For well over an hour we slogged through one of those spider legs of Kawnipi, rarely getting anything that amounted to a full stroke.
Finally, finally we got enough water to paddle freely. We arrived at the wide part of Kawnipi just as darkness fell.
Les Miller thought he remembered a campsite across the lake. He set a compass as we traversed in what seemed like total darkness.
Somehow we hit that campsite right on the money. We scurried to set up tents and dinner amounted to hot chocolate and Lipton noodle soup.
It was one of those days on the trail for which no one ever plans. It demands more of one’s stamina than you think is in you. It taxes your heart and soul. It is what makes you grow, not only as an individual but as a blessed community.
After that, the trip was filled with joy. We laughed a lot and sang hymns in four part at trail lunch.
Paz, Jeff

Paddle it Forward Reflection 1

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Celebrating my 25 consecutive September canoe trips into the Boundary Waters, inspired by a $25k challenge grant, I promised to do some reflections on those 25  years. My hope is that it will rekindle your own blessed times  of being in the wilderness.

Most of the reflections will involve little glimpses  of beauty, and friendships  and holy moments.
This first one will be a little longer….the story of how it all began.
It was just a few days after the awful events of 9-11 when we embarked on a journey around Hunter’s Island in Quetico , an historic route of the voyageurs.
Having spent six summers on staff at Wilderness and then bringing young people from the churches where I was a pastor over a 20 year span, I was invited by Jim Wiinanen to accompany some of the principal staff at both Wilderness and Wapogasset as a kind of get to know you (wonder if this proposed marriage will work) time.
In a world rocked by the  tragic events of 9-11, we wondered if we should cancel the trip altogether were it not for some key folks who encouraged us to go. Six of us, Joel Rogness and Larissa Gothschalk from Wilderness, Tim Knutson and Peter Tonn from Wapo along with Jim Wiinanen and I set out, not really knowing what the world would look like when we returned.
In no small way, along with our packs we carried much of the world’s angst in our hearts and minds. At the same time, as it often does the wilderness offered a measure of peace and freedom for which our weary souls longed desperately.
We had 8 days to complete that journey, which meant we had to rise early and paddle late every day. I thank Jim Wiinanen for making sure we took the time to visit pictographs, marvel at the changing fall colors, take a detour through a swamp, get within 20 ft of a bull moose swimming as we exited a portage.
We were blessed with remarkably placid waters through much of the trip, which made the long days more than manageable. When we got to Basswood Lake, thinking that a prevailing west wind might carry us home through Knife Lake and up the Ottertrack, everything changed.
As we entered Basswood, there was a driving rain storm which forced us to take shelter on the Canadian side. The rain subsided but the temperature began to drop and our last big paddle days were into the face of a stiff east wind. We paddled across a two mile stretch of Basswood against two foot waves and not even the dot of an island to offer relief. Even though I knew every one of my companions would risk their lives to rescue a capsized canoe, swamping was not an option.
The trip across Knife and up the Ottertrack posed no danger but it was a tough slog against the wind. As we paddled up the Ottertrack, one could begin to feel a change in the air. The clouds above began to play games and suddenly the wind began to shift again. We took a good while exploring the place where Benny Ambrose had lived and then headed for Monument Portage.
One never knows what you will find when you emerge onto Saganaga Lake. Wind is usually a factor one way or the other. It is sort of like Lake Superior. You take what it gives you.
On this day, remarkably, Big Sag was perfectly placid. We brought the three canoe together and sat in the stillness for over an hour, looking into Cache Bay where the journey had begun 8 days ago. Jim read us something the Sigurd Olson had written about Saganaga as it captured the heart of the wilderness.
As we sat there in silence for a good while in that holy space, I looked over at Larissa as she whispered , “ I made it…”
It wasn’t about covering the miles of that incredible journey. It wasn’t about putting up with 5 male companions for a whole week. It wasn’t about having escaped from a world reeling.
It was about finding the center of her soul again.
It’s why she came.
It’s why we all come back to the wilderness.
Paz, Jeff Barrow

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