Pick up a copy of The Legacy of Kanakuk

Darnell White and Timothy Publishing proudly present the newest Kanakuk book...

The Legacy of Kanakuk by Darnell White

This book will be a walk through memory lane for thousands of Kamp families and for others a glimpse into what made Kanakuk great all these years. From the History of the Ponytail Parthenon to “Spike-isms” this book lovingly tells the tale of Kanakuk Kamps from the early days through the 1960’s. Much of The Legacy of Kanakuk comes from the heart of Darnell White, Spike’s wife and Joe’s mother. She is the best qualified to share the moments and memories that so many have been a part of. 100’s of photos and dozens of Kamper and staff “remembrances” make the years come alive in this 118 page, hardcover book with dust jacket.

Buy a copy today!

If you would like to connect with the author of this book please email:


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New Kanakuk Kamps web site launches today!

Today the all new www.kanakuk.com is going live!!

We are excited to present it to everyone and hope that you find the "Merry Christmas" dressing fun and appropriate for the season. After the first of the year we'll be changing the look of the website again, but you'll always find the navigation, the content, and functionality in the same familiar places. It'll be fun to watch the creative team here "dress-up" the website frequently and one of these days maybe we'll give you a chance to do the same. There's lots of new stuff to see...

Don't know the first thing about Kanakuk Kamps? Discover it!
Wonder what the hype is about? Feel The Impact!
Need a new friend? Meet The People?
Want to see Joe White in a suit? Drink in the "Unquenchable love"!
Want to ask a question or tell your Kanakuk story? Why don't you Sayso!

We've hidden a treat on the new www.kanakuk.com. Just type the letters "JOY" on your keyboard to find it.

Share any of these pages with a friend! Just click on the little envelope at the bottom of the website.

During the beta testing many of you took the time to give us feedback and we spent time making the site better in those ways. Thank you!!

Once again we need you to check out www.kanakuk.com, kick the tires, try to find problems, and let us know. When you find a something on the new website that could be better just click on the ladybug at the bottom of each page and send us a short description of the change and we'll fix it. Include your name and email address and we will enter you in a random drawing for a $25.00 iTunes gift card.

Also, the www.kanakuk.com web store will be down for maintenance from Dec 19th this Friday at noon until January 5th. The store guys tell me that there is still time to get things ordered and to you for Christmas, just order soon.



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New Employee Announcement

MEMO

DATE: December 9, 2008

TO: Kanakuk Kamps

FROM: Human Resources Department

SUBJECT: New Employee

Please welcome Lesley to the Operations Support Department. Lesley is taking Cynthia P's place as Paul’s assistant. Many of you will get a chance to meet her when you get your picture taken for the new security badges. Smile!

Lesley is a native Californian, but considers herself a “transplant”, as she has lived in the Branson area for the last 15 years. She has three children, two who are in college and one in junior high. Lesley loves sports, especially football and is formerly a chiefs fan ☹ (At this point, she is pulling for a number one draft pick for next year!) She loves to travel and has the Holy Land and Europe on her “bucket list”. (Maybe when all three kids are out of college!)

Lesley’s children have attended Kanakuk and she is thrilled to be a part of this exciting ministry.

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Can you help us test the new website?

This is the BETA release of the new www.kanakuk.com

Don't know the first thing about Kanakuk Kamps? Discover it!
Wonder what the hype is about? Feel The Impact!
Need a new friend? Meet The People?
Want to see Joe White in a suit? Drink in the "Unquenchable love"!
Want to ask a question or tell your Kanakuk story? Why don't you Sayso!

We've hidden a treat on the new www.kanakuk.com. Just type the letters "JOY" on your keyboard to find it.

Share any of these pages with a friend! Just click on the little envelope at the bottom of the website.
Today, you get a sneak peek at the nearly ready, all brand new, www.kanakuk.com. We need you to check it out, kick the tires, try to find problems, and let us know. When you find a flaw in the new website just click on the ladybug at the bottom of each page and send us a short description of the problem and we'll fix it.

Some known problems:
Internet Explorer(IE) 6.0 looks bad, messes with our flash content, doesn't like going places, etc. If you are running IE 6, upgrade to Firefox or the latest version of IE. We'll eventually work all the IE 6 bugs out.

You can login (single login for everyone in the top right corner! Way to go Jeremy!) with your regular Kanakuk id (probably your email). You don't need it to get around most of the site but if you want to track your Sayso conversations or get to any of the personal stuff you'll need it.

Forgot your password? Click on the green "Login" button and follow the links so we can send it out to you.

Thanks for helping us with this. This has been a huge project and we really have poured ourselves in to it. Our vision is that you find it easy to use and a place that has a lot of value for your life and your Kanakuk experience. Today we lay the foundation for that.

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The Sun Sets on Kanakuk

Sometimes our light goes out but is fanned into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. - Albert Schweitzer

Todd Rapp, K-West Assistant Director, showed me this quote this morning and made the observation that it describes much of what we do here at Kanakuk Kamps. The history of Kanakuk Kamps is full of people who have had their lights fanned alive by the love and care of our staff. It is some of the finest staff in the world. My daughter received the nicest notes from her counselors this week and we cherish them. I wish they could see the light shining brightly in her.

Just a few minutes ago I sent an e-mail out to the last three year's summer staff announcing a full-time Graphic Design job that just opened up here last week. As I looked out my office window tonight and saw the sun setting I thought of this quote again. I thought of our Graphic Designer Lindsay moving on to another job where she can grow and expand, closer to home. It's my hope that even in the Marketing Department at Kanakuk Kamps that we would fan each other's light, spurring one another on to reach toward the goals God has set before us. To be ready to fan another until their light bursts into flame. We often don't understand why we land places then get moved on, but God has a plan. Our part is to live life fanning like crazy.

As Lindsay leaves, we look forward to the next person that will fill her huge (size 5) shoes. If you know someone with Graphic Design passion and skills, please send the link below on to them.

http://www.kanakuk.com:2008/staff/jobopening.html

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Should you send your child to Summer Camp or Seminary?

Best Friends at Kamp: The Camerons

At Kanakuk, campers have a blast doing all the fun stuff, hanging out with cool counselors, and making great friendships. This past summer the video staff at K-1 interviewed two boys, both named Cameron, both "lefties" and both sorting through deep theological issues.

When I was 8, I was still trying to figure out whether the chicken came before the egg. So I can appreciate the struggle that the Camerons had with the question "Would we be alive if Jesus didn't die on the Cross?" But they seemed to get to the bottom of it in a way that only a child could. Watching this video reminded me of Matthew 18:1-4. Cameron and Cameron gave me pause to wonder if I'm being child-like enough in my walk with Christ.

My daughter has a shirt that says "My Dad can fix anything!" Talk about pressure! She's about Cameron's age and still believes what's on her shirt. I do my best to live up to those expectations. I want her to know that when she comes to me with broken stuff that I'll at least give fixing it a try. The fun part is pointing her to the One who can fix it all. The older she get's the less it seems I can fix things :-)

If something is broken in your life, don't come running to me. God is waiting for you, waiting to give you life through the cross. So, yes, Cameron we become "alive" in Christ through His death on the cross. That's great news and I'm so glad you're already thinking about it.

When you came to Kanakuk during the summer how did it impact your life and your view of Christ?


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How do you pronounce "Hallelujah"?

Laura Lee and Callie share God's gift of laughter. See video below to accept the gift for yourself.

Wheww! It has been crazy-busy and to get a break from the hectic days and focus on my family I haven't taken my computer home for the past few weeks. That's cutting down on the posts. I so appreciate ALL my readers. Thanks for your candor and your encouragement. During the winter months you'll definitely get a mixed bag of posts here.

Here are the things that are coming up with Kanakuk from my vantage point:

The new kanakuk.com is coming! I know I've been saying that:-) It has turned out to be a real challenge to give you something radically different. We are getting closer to having it done and readers of this blog will be the first to know when it's ready for a test drive.

I'm collecting three amazing stories to share with you:

• A young Kamper who came to Kanakuk for the fun but left with so much more. We captured highlights from her whole term. I think she even figured out how to say "Hallelujah"! (See Video teaser)

• A mom made a flippant decision over 20 years ago to attend a Kanakuk Movie Night with a friend. That moment has changed her family forever and now she wants to share it all with you. (Hot of the phone lines last night!)

• Normally a fatal blow to a Kanakuk counselor's summer, an emergency appendectomy couldn't stop Jenny from following God's plan. The outcome surprised even her as she witnessed God's hand at work.(Video to come! Thanks BHill.)

During the summer months there will be much more specific about Kanakuk happenings here at Inside Kanakuk, but I'm looking out ahead at the horizon and there will be much to share between now and Summer 2009! Check out the blogs on the right for different little windows into the Kanakuk family.

Look at the heart.

Have a great day!

If you enjoyed this post would you be willing to share it with your circle of friends? Just use the "email a friend" link below (the little envelope).

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What do Kanakuk Director's like to do during the winter months?

In a very unscientific poll 98.6% of Kanakuk Kamp Director types around the offices said that one of their favorite things to do when they can't be at Kamp is to travel to see their Kamp family in their towns. This is evidenced by the caravan of Kanakuk vans seen moving out of here on a regular basis during the winter months. It starts this weekend and continues pretty steady through the first part of February. To find out if they are coming to your area go the website: KanakukLive!

If you have a Kanakuk Director sighting in your area please send me photos at jay_@_kanakuk.com. They have so much fun when they are gone I'm not convinced they aren't going to the beach for a week!!

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Are You Like Sarah Palin?

 

Palin family minus new little guy, Trig.

Ask anyone, I vote, but I'm not political. I figure God already knows who's gonna win, so I spend my energies on other things, but Sarah Palin's explosion into the national spotlight has made me think.

If nothing else it seems to have highlighted the intensely diverse roll of women. Maybe you can relate. At 44 years old Sarah Palin is a self proclaimed "Hockey mom", mother of 5 in a 4 bedroom, 4 bath house, wife married for 20 years, small town church goer, oh, and Vice Presidential candidate! 

It made me think of the many Kanakuk Kamps moms who drive the kids to school, work a job, do the family "books", attend church, serve on school committees, coordinate soccer teams, and lovingly tuck their little ones in bed at night. It's not so different from Sarah Palin's life really. Maybe you don't have handlers (maybe you wish you did?). Maybe you aren't scheduled for a national televised debate tonight, but standing before the school board fighting for character training funds is pretty big. Especially impressive when you spent the 4 hours prior closing a real estate deal, making dinner, and solving pre-algebra problems! What guides you through all that?

We are getting close to rolling out a new kanakuk.com; A foundational start to a new experience for our whole Kanakuk family. My dream of kanakuk.com becoming a "resource for your life" makes me want to stop and consider your diversity. What you are doing, what you are dealing with, what questions do you have, what connections do you want to make with us, and each other? How can we come along side with encouragement for your family throughout the year?

You may not be preparing for the Sarah Palin v. Joe Biden debate but, if you can relate to the hectic life of Sarah Palin, we are right there with you. We all need a solid foundation to stand on. Something absolute to cling to when the pressures get overwhelming.

Consider this today as you spread peanut butter: Psalms 119. It is 176 verses on the importance of relying on God's word for our every need. At least take with you the familiar verse 105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." Take time to read God's Word you won't regret it.

Can you relate to Sarah Palin today? How?

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Kanakuk Pools Inspire Dreams

Every day, at every activity, Kanakuk Kampers live faith-impacting moments that God uses to bring them closer to Him. Our counselors share those moments with great kids like Josh.

“Hi, I’m Josh. I’ve been going to Kanakuk for two years and when I grow up I want to be a professional blobber. This is my story…I got my start in blobbing when I was just seven-years-old. Yeah, I tried all that other stuff like water slide, water tramp, diving, trapeze, water polo, and even swimming. Anyway, my counselor K-Mart (Kenny Martin is his real name) says I have huge potential in the blobbing world. He says it takes bravery and courage to be a great blobber. You definitely need the bravery part because the first time is scary for no reason, but you don’t know that until you do it. K-Mart said when you jump off the tower the first time it’s like trusting God that he’ll always be there when you need Him. K-Mart should know ‘cause he likes trying new stuff like the triple leapfrog, and extreme apple eating, all of which are awesome! But for me, I could just blob all day at Kamp and some day I’m going to be on ESPN! K-Mart would think that was the blob (dot) com!”

Kanakuk offers children young and old new, exciting adventures that prep them for a life of challenge and success. Josh’s story is based on the experiences of thousands of young boys and girls who come to Kanakuk and share special moments with one of our hand-picked Christian counselors; leaders and role models who strive to live a life worthy of following. Sometimes it takes being called “K-Mart” and playing in the pool!

This is a compilation of Kamper and counselor stories that I have collected over the years. The name, etc have all been changed.

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Do men really give a rip about Jesus?

 

Men coming to the Cross in Hershey, PA. 

Do men care about Jesus? Of people attending church services today 61% are women and 39% are men. [http://www.uscongregations.org/key.htm] Does that statistic answer the question? I hope not. Maybe as you looked around the sanctuary this past Sunday you saw those same kinds of numbers and asked yourself what is wrong.

Let me give you some encouragement. While we might not being going to church we are realizing that we need to take a more active roll in the spiritual lives of our families. Men are seeing the need to be authentic and to share our struggles. Men are learning that they need to make their family their priority. Men are learning that they can't defeat temptation without a daily relationship with Jesus Christ and God's Word.

This past weekend I was in Hershey, PA [yes, I went to Chocolate World] and worked at the Men at the Cross event held at the Giant Center right next door to Hershey Park. Around 2000 men were there caring about Jesus. The event was also webcast so people all over the country participated too.

Stu Weber
Todd Wagner
Reggie Dabbs
Rick Rigsby
Joe White
Gary Smalley

These close. "I Timothy 1:5" friends spoke at the Men at the Cross event in Hershey and gave a great challenge to men to find a "Timothy" in their life. Someone who they will disciple for 24 weeks so that that man can then become a Paul to someone in their life. Ultimately to reach the whole World for Christ through life-on-life ministry.

If you would like to see the event program in it's entirety it is now available as an archived webcast at www.menatthecross.org. It is available until December 22nd, 2008.

Here is just one of the testimonials received from the webcast participants:

I'm a recently dismissed worship pastor who had just about given up. I
was ready to move back into the bleachers. I realize tonight that I have
been holding back from God. I have no idea what God has in store for me
now, but I'm going to wait for Him. I want to be one who He "strengthens
whose heart is fully committed to Him" (2 Chron. 16:9). I pray that God
will show me my Timothy so that I may do my part in fulfilling the
Commission. Thank you for making this webcast available. And to think
that this is only the first hour of the event. Praise God for bringing
me back!!

In Christ,
Dave, Indiana

Tell us about men that care about Jesus. Leave a comment.

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Sayso - Kanakuk Parents Online Forums

 

Artist rendering of the new "Sayso" online forums area being planned for the new kanakuk.com 

In the 8+ years that I have worked at Kanakuk Kamps I have been most impressed by the parents, Kampers and staff that consider themselves part of the Kanakuk family. Never having been on staff or a Kamper myself I didn't know the depth of your passion, loyalty and strength. I've been blessed by parent's words of encouragement and wisdom, inspired by the stories of Kampers and sharpened by the dedicated service of the staff. It's a shame we haven't had more time to talk, to share, to connect and more closely live the Christian life together.

Sure we bump into each other at closing ceremonies or our kids drag us together over the years, but it can be so much more. I have a vision that Kanakuk Moms will trade life's moments, that Kanakuk Dads will give each other inside tips on making an impact, that our staff can keep us all fresh and encouraged, that kids can entertain us and more of it all the time. What a great community we have! You have so much to offer. 

When we roll out the new kanakuk.com we'll have online forums; connecting points, discussions, and yes, connectersations! This area for Parents, Staff and the public will be called "Sayso" after a traditional camp meeting time where kids will share their experiences, stories, testimonies, often around a campfire.

So pull up a chair and prepare to share and connect with someone just like you, someone who gets what it is to be a part of Kanakuk. You'll help us all become better people and shine a light for the World to see.

Can you share this blog with someone you know today? Let them know that the Kanakuk forums will be for them too.

This is getting long but I just have to check with everyone and see how the school year is going. Leave a comment about your favorite school start-up story. Let's start to share today!

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Fall projects list in the Kanakuk marketing department

Here is a partial list of projects that we are working on in the Marketing Department at Kanakuk Kamps.

1. 2009 Staff Recruitment video
2. 2009 Staff promo commercials 
3. 2008-09 KanakukLive! Movie (A Tim Oliphant video experience)
4. The new kanakuk.com rollout (leave a comment if you are willing to beta test the new site for us sometime in the next several days)
5. Coffee
6. KanakukLive! event print and digital materials
7. Hershey, PA Men at the Cross Stage Management
8. Hershey, PA Kanakuk Kamps booth (Any Lancaster County Kanakukers out there? We could use a local volunteer to help with the booth.)
9. 2010 concept research
10. Director blogs (see sidebar)
11. 25 Days of Christmas mailing
12. Kanakuk Kamps Term Videos (out in early January)
13. Tons of other small stuff 

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Kanakuk Kamps Employee Benefit #136

After being without power at my house for over 24 hours, with 7th grade discipleship group, school and work all scheduled for early Monday morning my boys and I got up in the dark and made our way to the K-Kauai Staff building for some light and a warm shower!

Most importantly the long day without power taught our family a small amount of empathy for those in Texas, Louisiana, and the rest of the Gulf residents ravaged by Hurricane Ike and his friends. We live with so much in America and yet have so little margin in our lives. We did fine without power and water for a day. We have Wal-Mart, good friends, and a solid roof over our heads. But, what if we had been without for days, weeks, or even months?

As my wife and I lay in bed last night, listening to a neighbor's generator run, she commented about how people used to live like this all the time, many within the last 100 years. It was one of those reality check moments when priorities get jostled into a deeper, more meaningful order.

My new found empathies go out to all those effected by the storms in the Gulf and the World. To all those sleeping under the stars tonight, wondering where clean water will come from tomorrow, I hope you find shelter and hope. God has a plan, even for clean water.

As I drove to the first stop of the day my wife called and said the power had just been restored. While I'm glad I won't have to get ready for work at Kanakuk Family Kamp tomorrow, it was a nice employee perk (#136) this morning.

Have you been affected by the storms? Share your stories here so we can be praying for you.

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2009 Kanakuk Enrollment is Off the Charts

On Monday we sent out the following e-mail to all 2008 & 2009 Kanakuk Families.

In the first 18 hours after the e-mail there were 201 enrollments. The vast majority of those were Kampers new to Kanakuk! At the end of 24 hours there were 280 enrollments. At this pace we’re filling very fast and are way ahead of enrollments this time last year.

Total Bunk With A Friend requests to date are 339 with a little more than half accepted already.

The e-mail:

New in 2009! Kanakuk is pleased to offer your child the opportunity to Bunk With A Friend™ in the same cabin.

If you’ve been waiting for a reason to enroll your child for Summer ’09, then this is it! 

Enrollment is already up over 100% compared to last year, with some terms full and many more nearly full.  Our new Bunk With A Friend™ program is certain to cause a rush of new enrollments, and we want your child to be a part of it.

Even if you've already enrolled, you should know that our Directors are busily preparing to make this summer the greatest ever!  They’ve dreamed up all kinds of new programs, parties, and activities that are sure to have your child talking about Kamp long after their term is over. One of the ways you can help make this the most exciting summer in Kanakuk history is by taking advantage of our all new Bunk With A Friend™  program.

If your child and a friend have birthdates within 12 months, and will be attending the same Kamp and Term, simply logon to your account at www.kanakuk.com and click on the Bunk With A Friend™ link.  Just 3 easy steps and we’ll send your invitation to your child’s friend letting them know your request.  Once they’ve accepted your invitation, we’ll send you an email letting you know.  Please note that you can only make one Bunk With A Friend™ request per child.

Mom and Dad, you know the lifelong value of sending your child to Kanakuk for the summer - you’ve seen the impact in their lives.  If you have friends who have never sent their child to kamp before, Bunk With A Friend™ is a great way to help them feel more comfortable making the decision – logon or call us and we’ll help you send them an invitation. Imagine the impact your child and their friend can make together after a summer together at Kanakuk!

Feel free to logon and take advantage of Bunk With A Friend™ right now. And, if you’ve been hesitant to enroll your child for a lengthier term at kamp, Bunk With A Friend™ is a great way to ensure that those longer terms are even more special and exciting.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call one of our wonderful registrars at 417-266-3000 or email us at registration@kanakuk.com

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Hang with me!

 

 

Sam Hoover doing and then not doing his video thing.

I'm buried at work! I'll be back to blogging soon.

I have serious news about enrollment and how it was affected by the Bunk With a Friend feature announced on Monday.

I'm dying to give Sam Hoover a huge shout out on here about his performance as the video guru at the MATC events too but I've been too busy. Oh, I guess I just got that one done :-) Seriously Sam does awesome and is a critical player in making it all run smooth! Train robbing skills!


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Big Change Coming on Monday

You've never been able to do this at Kanakuk!

For over 85 years Kanakuk Kamps has provided an "Exciting Adventure in Christian Athletics". Over 85 years of impacting kids in a way that shows them the love of Christ. For all those years Kanakuk has lovingly and caringly placed kids of the same age in cabins together with 2 or 3 of the best counselors we could find in the world. It's worked great and kids always leave with friendships that can and often do last a lifetime. More choice is coming!

On Monday we are launching Bunk with a Friend!  Parents and kids will have the opportunity to choose one friend that has a birthday within one year of the Kamper to stay in the same cabin with them. All of this will be done online through Parent's Place. You can make a request and approve a request online. Then manage the request as needed.

This new feature is a great opportunity to invite your friends to Kanakuk or just make sure you stay with that Kamp friend you made last year.

We'll be sending out an e-mail on Monday (unless there's a glitch:-)) that will explain it all in detail.

I'm in Omaha, NE and I'll be back in Branson on Sunday. Joe White has begun a new ministry this year called Men at the Cross that seeks to reach men with the vision of the Paul/Timothy Discipleship model given us in the Word of God. It's a message that men are hungry for; God is blessing these events. You'll see me sharing more about it in the weeks to come. Next week is Forth Worth and then Hersey, PA the following week.

Heather Headley sang this morning and it was just amazing! I've never felt someone sing with that much emotion in my entire life. She has an amazing talent and heart for worshiping God. I can't begin to describe it but I'm glad I'll hear her again in Hershey.

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8 Fish on the Back of Your Pinto

Rick Rigsby, from Texas A&M on stage at Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs 

The first night of the Omaha Men at the Cross is done. It was awesome!

Sitting in the Speakers prayer meeting just before the event, I was struck by the power of God to orchestrate so many things together in a perfect way. There were some great guys in that meeting; Michael W. Smith, Brian Daniel, Gary Rosberg, Joe White, Rick Rigsby, Reggie Dabbs, Steve Farrar, Greg O'Dell, and t heir are others I'm forgetting. The thing I noticed though about that meeting was the unity of Spirit. Just humble guys wanting men to be closer to Jesus.

Rick Rigsby, was one of the speakers Friday night and brought a great challenge to men to be authentic Christians. One of my favorite lines from Rick was "ego is the anesthetic of stupidity". He is also waaay funny. At one point he told the crowd that "To be a good Christian you don't have to have 8 fish on the back of your Pinto." And, any speaker that can reference 8 track tapes and make you laugh, has it going on. Rick really is a great speaker, but more importantly he is a broken man of God who gives Him the glory.

I'll try and post more from the event later today. Greg is ready to go to breakfast.

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Kamp Dad John Raley Spotted Back Stage

Joe White and John Raley pose for a quick photo in Houston. 

Kanakuk dad and Houston attorney, John Raley attended the Houston, Men at the Cross event. He met briefly with Joe White back stage after the event. His wife Kelly helped with the Kanakuk Kamps booth.

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Kanakuk Kampers at Men at the Cross

There was more than one Kanakuk Kamper at the Houston Men at the Cross event. Lots of Kanakuk parents too. This is a picture of Joe White with Cody Reeter and his friend Stephen Snow. Thanks you guys for coming to the event!

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Brian Keith Daniel Men at the Cross featured painter

Brian Daniel signs his original artwork from the Houston Men at the Cross event performance

Joe White has found a really talented painter to share the stage with Heather Headley at the Omaha Men at the Cross event. Brian has done all the Men at the Cross events and I believe is scheduled to do the rest of them this year. In Omaha Brian Daniel will paint a picture of Christ on the Cross while Heather Headley sings. I've seen Brian paint and heard Heather sing. It will no doubt be a highlight of the event!

More about Heather after the next event.

You can learn more about Brian and his artwork at www.seraphimonline.com. On the website you can see video of Brian's performances, see where he'll be next, order prints, and learn how you can have him come to your church or event. Brian is a great guy, down to earth and just ready to serve God through his gifts as an artist. He and I have some similar job background and I look forward to seeing him again in Omaha.

Hey Brian--I'll see you in a few days!

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I'm Headed to Omaha for a Men at the Cross Event

I'm going to rapid fire some posts today and tomorrow to catch up from the Houston Men at the Cross event. I leave on Friday for the Omaha Men at the Cross event and will no doubt have some posts after that to share. Greg O'Dell and I will be tag teaming the stage management duties the rest of the year. Mollye is going to run the Kanakuk Kamps booth for Omaha and beyond? She's also helping us with the  stage management preparation.

Scheduled for the Omaha event is Heather Headley, Michael W. Smith, Reggie Dabbs, Rick Rigsby, Joe White, Christopher Julian, Rick Cua and others.

Joe is also going to speak at First Family Church in Overland Park, KS on Sunday morning. If you are in the are I'm sure they would love to have you join them.

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Brandon Heath Song Writer Backstage Photo

Brandon Health put on a concert at the Houston Men at the Cross event. I was busy during the concert and only got this photo of Brandon and the band backstage right before they went on. (Adam Martin fans check out the dark shirted figure lurking in the background.) From what I heard Heath is a talented song writer who really gets the emergent church and it's desire for community. Check out his music video.



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Kanakuk Directors Prepare to Blog

 

Andy Braner, Kanakuk Colorado Director, spoke today to all the other Kanakuk Kamps Directors regarding what he has done regarding Facebook, MySpace, Podcasting, videocasting, and blogging. He shared some great ways to communicate with the millions of people now doing the majority of their communicating online. I then shared some ways that they can get started and some ideas about what they should blog about. They had some general concerns about the time it would take and if this was really the most effective way for them to communicate. I think all of them see the need to be online and many of them have already chosen to give it a try. Give them a couple of weeks and I think you'll start to see them posting.

When the new www.kanakuk.com launches at the end of this month we are going to do our best to have the Director's blogs all in place where you can easily get to them and subscribe to their RSS Feed.

When you start to see your Kamp staff blogging, encourage them by posting comments, let them know you appreciate it. They truly are just looking for the best way to stay in touch with you over the winter months.

I've already talked to several of the Directors about next summer. They don't miss a beat when it comes to planning the next greatest summer of Christian camping.

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The Joe White Kanakuk Kamps Booth at Men at the Cross

 

Kanakuk Kamps just purchased this new display booth for the Men at the Cross conferences. We also purchased the TV, DVD player and the stand for the TV. You might notice in the picture that the TV is not on the stand. Well, we shipped all the parts for the booth to Houston and one of the boxes, the one with the bracket for the TV, got lost in the Toyota Center. The Toyota Center is where the Houston Rockets Play. I finally found the stray box late the second day and had no time to put it together. The Omaha, NE, Men at the Cross event will go smoother in that department. The TV made a huge difference in the number of people who stopped at the booth.

As proof I looked at the web stats for the weekend and Monday before and the weekend and Monday after the St. Louis Men at the Cross event and the number of page views in the St. Louis metro area were exactly the same. We had no decent booth, no TV, etc. at that event. Then I looked at the page views for the same time scenarios in Houston and the page views for the weekend of the event were almost exactly double. I also so an increase here at Inside Kanakuk. So it seems to me just looking at the surface that the booth upgrade was well worth it. It was also fun to get the word out about Kanakuk and to meet some of the Kamp Dads that came to the event.

We had some great volunteers at the booth too. Meredith and her husband (I drew a blank on your name!! So, sorry.), and Kelly helped during the two day event. It was a huge help having people who know about and love Kanakuk and have experienced it. I saw them sharing the Kanakuk story with a lot of Dads. I was running in several directions that weekend so I just didn't get pictures of the volunteers. I'll do better in the future.


Mollye will go to the Omaha event to help with the booth and we'll have some more great volunteers. Special thanks to Brian Mitchell from Kids Across America for helping us newbies get the booth set-up, a couple times :-)

If any of you were in Houston and have any suggestions for the booth I'd love to hear them.

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Best Lemonade in Houston at Irma's Southwest Grill

Irma's Southwest Grill Entrance

After the Men at the Cross event in Houston we had a Victory lunch at Irma's Southwest Grill. All I can say is that it was the best Mexican food I've ever had. Shrimp tacos, enchiladas, Salsa that just makes you want to cry when you have to leave, and the absolute best lemonade in the world. Great atmosphere and just a fun time with the Leadership of MATC and the Houston regional team. Great guys and gals who truly have a heart for the men of Houston.

Irma's Southwest Grill's, now famous to me, lemonade.

Enjoy the pictures. Hopefully I'll get around to getting all the names right at some point. Feel free to jump in there and help.

 Joe White with Jeff, Bruce, and Louie Owners of Irma's Southwest Grill

 Joe White with Kampers and friends at Irma's

As a side note, all you Tim Oliphant, American Gladiator fans might like to know that Tim threw out the beginning pitch at the Springfield Cardinals baseball game last night. Then he competed against the crowd, the dominoes pizza guy, etc. in between innings. I didn't get to go because I was standing in a 3 hour line for getting one of my sons fitted and signed up for football.

The only way I made it through that ordeal was talking to Kamp Dad, Dana Barnett [hope I spell the names right] and his son Brandon. It was great to get to know them. We have such great parents at Kanakuk. Huge fans of what we are doing. It's so encouraging to hear and see from you first hand the impact Kamp has on your kids. In my position at Kanakuk I don't get a lot of time with the kids and parents. So, when God puts me in those situations I always feel blessed.

I've been very busy the last few days and appreciate your patience as I get caught up on my blogging. I love these conversations with you. Thanks for checking back.

This week and last I have had lots of conversations about connectersations that the Director's want to have with you and your kids. I haven't seen the Director's so hungry for time communicating with the kids they met this summer. They clearly miss the Kampers and want the summer to last. One of the ways they hope to share more of the year with you and your kids is through blogs. Watch for them to get started in the next month or so. It's going to fun.


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American Gladiators, Tim Oliphant on stage with Joe White and Bishop Larry Jackson

 

Tim Oliphant is entertained by questions from Joe White 

At this past weekends Houston, Texas Men at the Cross event Kanakuk's very own Tim Oliphant, winner of this year's American Gladiators show took the stage with Joe White and Bishop Larry Jackson.

It happened at 9:45 on Saturday morning. Joe and Bishop Jackson got up and did a little "Who's on first" skit and then Joe talked about it taking a lot of people to make an event like this happen. Joe then invited one of the "video guys" up on stage and it was Tim. Joe and Larry started peppering him with questions. So you do video stuff? You're not a very big guy are you? Tim tells them that he's like 5'8" and 145 pounds. (can't remember the specifics there but that's close) They ask him, "You ever get in any fights?" Tim says well kind of. this goes on for a few rounds of the big guys that Tim's been in a tussle with and ends with him saying that he beat one of of them twice and that he had three of his friends with him and he beat them too. Then they started saying "Prove it." Then Tim played a video montage of scenes from the Gladiator show.

After the video, Tim shared how the American Gladiators experience has shown him how important it is to be prepared. Using the David and Goliath story from the Bible Tim shared that David had spent a life being a shepherd, relying on God and practicing his slingshot skills. Tim commented that the show was physically, emotionally exhausting and that he spent a lot of his time during the taping of the sho on his knees. Getting strength from God. He emphasized that we can't go into life's battles not prepared to battle the evil one and that the way to do that is through a relationship with Jesus Christ through reading his Word and meditation on it.

It was a great segment of the event and I was glad Tim did it. Even though he got hassled by security everytime he showed up at the event! It didn't help that my phone went dead and he couldn't call to get any help! My bad. Sorry Tim. I hope you had a great time. It was awesome.

If you were at the Houston event and have comments or questions for Tim post them here and he'll see them. Tell us what you thought of the Houston Men at the Cross event.

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What is your blog about?

Wordle made from www.insidekanakuk.com. Click to zoom in.

Anne Jackson posted one of these Wordles on her blog the other day and I thought it was a great way to show people what your blog is about. Wordle.com says this about the tool:

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

Try a Wordle of your own today and post a comment here with a link to it. We'll all check it out.

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Houston Men at the Cross with Joe White

View from were I sat stage side at Men at the Cross - Houston

I got home mid afternoon today (Sunday) from an amazing weekend traveling with Joe White to the Men at the Cross event in Houston, Texas. The event was held at the Toyota Center and approximately 5000 men attended. I've spent time with my family, taken a short nap and watched some Olympics. I have pictures from back stage at the event and stories to tell from the trip. The photo above doesn't say much about the event. Call it a teaser if you will, much like this e-mail. Tomorrow I will try to post first about the things I saw God do at the event.

Other topics on the list:

American Gladiators, Tim Oliphant on stage with Joe White and Bishop Larry Jackson
Men at the Cross speakers for Houston
Meal at Irma's Southwest Grill
3 services at 2nd Baptist of Houston
Brandon Heath Concert
The Kanakuk Booth
Kampers Spotted in Houston
99 Balloons video
Coffee in a Cabinet
Views from the Omni Hotel
Notes on my trip buddy Greg O'Dell.
"Houston has the best restaurants anywhere!" - Doug Goodwin

Seriously, you have got to check in here the next few days.

I love being home with my wife and kids.

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I don't know why this made me laugh

I have an external drive that I use to back up my laptop and it's really best if you remove it from your desktop before you unplug it. So I minimized all my windows only to reveal the cluttered mess in the above photo. I tend to get a little messy when I get really going on a project. Well, I started moving things around, and I couldn't find that hard drive anywhere. I just started laughing and laughing. OK, it is seriously time to do some desktop cleaning. I had to open a new finder window to eject the hard drive. I guess the engineers at apple were thinking of me when they put that little eject button in there.

Can anyone else relate? I think I need a support group :-)

By the way: I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow and won't be blogging unless something comes up. Then I'm at the Men at the Cross event in Houston for the weekend. If I can get wi-fi I'll update from there.

Note to self: download map to Starbucks before leaving.

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New Web Address for Inside Kanakuk

If you attend the Houston Men at the Cross event on Aug. 22nd you might see one of these cards. I'm going to let people that I run into there know that my blog is here and active. I'm going to do my best to cover the event for my readers so that employees, kampers, parents, staff and the world can have a better picture of Joe White's ministry work.

You'll also notice that my blog now has it's own domain. Just put "insidekanakuk.com" or "www.insidekanakuk.com" in your browser's address bar and you'll get back here. Cooler - Easier. All the old links still work.

When the new website rolls out. You'll be able to easily find Inside Kanakuk there along with the other Kanakuk blogs.


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Scary Steps and Powerful Skills

Scary Sketches from Jay

Even resorted to some cut and paste on this one!

I seriously don't know why I'm doing this. Now you are going to know how terrible an artist I am! I've done a lot of graphic design in my days, made a lot of pretty logos, and all that. Yeah that's right, not a single ounce of sketching skill. I do sketches like the one above so that the graphic designers, in this case Jessica, can have a ROUGH idea of how I want a piece laid out, and what content goes on it. I occasionally throw in a little Marketing Director humor just to keep it lively. So this is the first step of a print project here at Kanakuk. That's the scary part.

Not so scary. Great job on these! Upper: Jessica. Lower: Lindsay.

The second part is when the graphic designers take the works of "art" only my mother could love and turn them into real art. Doing that is no small task. Jessica and Lindsay both have some seriously mad skills. Not only can they play Adobe InDesign and PhotoShop like a finely built violin, but they are super smart about what helps you enjoy and get a lot out of the things we send out in the mail. Not only on paper but the web too.

We met twice the end of last week to cover more of the new website and I couldn't be prouder. We may not be the smartest, most experienced web team in the world but there couldn't be a more pleasant group of people to create with. They are passionate about creating a web experience for www.kanakuk.com that will make life faster and more enjoyable for everyone.

The rollout date for the new website is currently Sept. 30th. We might go beta as early as the 15th. At the rollout it will clearly be a work in progress but I think you'll like the new foundation. I promise more screen shots before the 15th. I look forward to getting your input as we move forward.


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2009 Summer Camps at Kanakuk

Graphics for Display booth being used at Men at the Cross events

Next years terms are filling up faster than we thought they would. I'll post some of the stats below, but first a quick reflection on summer 2008.

It's crazy how time flies during the summer. I've been at Kanakuk Kamps for 8 years and every summer goes by faster than the last. Here in the marketing department we are in charge of making sure the photos get taken, posted to the web, and printed, video footage captured and edited, and collect new material for the upcoming year of telling the Kanakuk story.

This summer we had an intern, Adam McClure, from UGA. He was huge fun to have around and a great asset to our team. He had a hand in making sure that photos of kamper's were approved and posted to the website. He was also plugged in to the program at K-1. He stayed there and served in ways I'm sure I don't even know. Thanks Adam for hanging with us and making it a great summer.

My last Facebook message from Adam indicated that he was coming back next summer in some capacity. We love having staff back year after year. They come back, not because of the accomodations, not because of the huge paycheck :-), but because of the community of Christians that is created here. There is so much opportunity for Spiritual growth, for serving God through giving their time and hearts to the Kampers and other staff. In different ways those are some of the things that bring Kampers back too.

During the summer months, enrollment for the following summer usually hovers in the single digits and doesn't really take a big jump until people have had time to get home, get back into the school routines, and begin planning out the coming year. All of us are planning our lives in much shorter spurts and that means summer camp plans too. I know last year my wife and I waited until after Christmas to enroll our kids in Kamp and almost didn't get them in.

This year with some of the changes that Kanakuk has made the enrollment numbers are up considerably for this time of year. That means that some terms are full already. I know that heart of all our Director's yearns for the chance to see the same kids come back next summer. In many cases this is happening. Here are the numbers from today.

2008 Kampers enrolled for 2009: over all 18%, the highest Kamp is K-Kountry at 52%, then K-West at 21%, K-1 at 20%, etc.

Total enrollment is sitting at 23% of next year's available spots with more than 9 months to go!

We are headed towards a return rate of greater than 63%. That's going to make the Director's happy and a lot of kids too. I'm mainly sharing this information for our returning Kamp Families so that they can work now to get enrolled so they don't end up , not getting the spot they want.

More information about the other changes Kanakuk is making will be coming soon to your mail box.


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2008 Summer Music at Kanakuk Kamps

Christian Rap artist Lacrae performing for K-2 Kampers

Music is such a big part of a summer at Kanakuk Kamps. From the worship music at K-Life events to the fun music at the parties those words and tunes are forever a part of Kamper's memories. Over the years our summer theme has been written and performed by some of Christian Music's greats. Michael W. Smith, along with his wife Debbie have written and performed 10+ years worth. Steven Curtis Chapman has contributed, along with Chris Davis and Billy Sprague. The last few years Christian rap artist Lacrae has put the beat in the Kanakuk summer. I'm working on getting some of those songs ready for download on the new www.kanakuk.com. The projected date for that roll-out is Sept. 30.

Some of our Kampers are talented musicians as well. K-2 Kamper, Seth David, is a rapper with some talent. He was gracious enough to lend us one of his songs (Fresh) for use in the Original Clean Team Resource Kit. You can download the mp3 of Fresh at the The Original Clean Team website by registering for the Free Resource Kit. You'll also enjoy the short documentary produced by Tim Oliphant entitled, Unlikely Messenger: The Clean Team Story. One Kanakuk Kamper's mission to escape the party scene and share Christ with those in his school. It's not what you'd expect and the website is a great resource for youth groups and Christian teens.





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Joe White and Kanakuk Staff

This past summer an article was published in the InSite magazine a publication of the CCCA.

Written for others in camping ministry, the article looks a little deeper into how Kanakuk handles our summer staff. The article is well written and the editors at CCCA are great to work with. Kamp Directors Joe White, Trish Helsel, Ward Wiebe and others are quoted in the article.

An online magazine published by CCCA, called Camp Sight is dedicated to providing people with a look at the value of Christian camping through articles from camping leaders and stories of impact from real campers.

Many thanks to Alison Phillips, Editor and writer Ami Neiberger-Miller for their work on it.

If you have questions or comments about the article, Joe White, or anything "Kanakuk" just comment here and we can talk about it.


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Jennifer Farley Sighted in the Director's Building

Jennifer Farley - Get's 'em ready to fly down the K-1 zipline.

Like the first flower of Spring, like the first frost of Winter, seeing a Kamp Director back in the main offices here at Kanakuk says, the end of summer is near. Jennifer Farley, K-1 Assistant Women's Director and her husband Lee brought a couple boxes back to her office this morning. She looked nice and rested, bright eyed and smiley. In some ways I wish that meant we'd have 2 more weeks of summer! I had my office windows open all day yesterday and I really enjoyed the sounds of ziplines, and kids laughing.

Here in the Marketing department we go from being busy to frantic in about 2 days. There is so much to do now that summer is over and Kanakuk Movie Tour begins.

I'll be traveling to Houston later this month (Aug 22) with Joe White to help with the Men at the Cross conference. I'll tell you more about that in the days to come. If you are in the Houston area and would like to get more information go to the Men at the Cross website.



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Tim Oliphant American Gladiators Winner Gives God the credit

After an exhausting week, Tim Oliphant is finishing his summer duties strong. Tim has a lot of video work to do to get ready for Kanakuk Kamps coming to your town later this Fall and Winter.

The media coverage of Tim has been pretty fun to watch, but it wasn't until this article in the Branson Daily News that Tim felt like "This is what it is all about, finally, a media outlet got it right!!!!"

Branson Daily News - Faith, family, friends fan the fire.


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Around the World

I'm on vacation today. Traveling with my son. I did think it was interesting that I have had readers from 29 Countries. Here's the list:

United States
Canada
Mexico
United Kingdom
Spain
Egypt
Bahamas
Argentina
Germany
Ukraine
Costa Rica
Rwanda
Austria
Hungary
Vietnam
Russia
Brazil
Indonesia
Chile
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Norway
Italy
Netherlands
Thailand
Belgium
France
Australia
Ireland

Thanks for checking in from all over the world!


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