Friends are Friends Forever

In the words of Michael W. Smith "friends are friends forever." As the theme song of so many closing days or "goodbyes" this is the first song that comes to mind as we close Kamp for the summer. Today Kampers are packing. They are exchanging contact information and promising to become friends on Facebook as soon as they get home. They are soaking in every last event from the blob to the zipline as they get excited about getting to see their families when the gates open at 4pm.

Today is my last day of work here at Kanakuk and I can't help but think about all the blessings this place has given me. I began as a Kamper here when I was 8 years old in teepee 2 at K-Seven. I attended Kamp for 8 years then I went on staff in college and worked at K-Seven. The Institute and K-Life have shared a huge part of my life over the past 4 years and now I have worked in the marketing department for the past 2 summers. Needless to say, this place holds a big piece of my heart.

I know I am not alone in feeling this way. Whether you're 8 and this was your first summer, or your 70 and came to Kanakuk as a child yourself, you know how this place really is different. This place has molded how so many of us follow Christ. It has influenced how we interact with others in an "I'm Third" mindset. It's led us to our best friends, taught us about accountability and built us into mentors for those younger than us. As so many of us leave here tomorrow we will have heavy hearts to leave family, but we will also be grateful, for a summer that stretched us, challenged us and molded us to be a little more like Christ.

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Equipping the Future

Walking up the K-2 hill towards the upper fields the other day, I found myself surrounded by guys and girls all heading in the same direction with lime green books in their hands. There must have been at least a hundred and fifty of them piling into the chapel at K-2 for a class with no bats, no balls, no ropes or tennis shoes required. They laugh and exchange stories from the day as they find their seats in the chapel. A few minutes later Debbie Jo take the stage and discussion begins.

Discussions and lecture carries on for the next hour in this small chapel in the Ozarks. This class, called K-Equip, has been offered at K-2 for many summers. Lead by Joe & Debbie Jo White and Adam Donyes, the class is targeted to equip Kampers with a deeper Bible knowledge. When it first began it was a small group of students who wanted to learn more about the Bible. Over the past few years, this class has exploded into one of the most popular classes at K-2.




As I sat in the back pew of the chapel and listened to scripture being read by a Kamper it was incredible to see how attentive all the Kampers were. They were taking notes and asking questions with significantly more insight than I ever would've had at their age... or lets be honest, even more insight than I have now.




To see these high school students choose to be studying their Bible over spending time on the lake or at the pool was awesome. Seeing their hunger for the Word, their passion for learning and their desire to be leaders back in their community was humbling. We should be so thankful for the blessings the Lord has given us in these amazing future leaders!

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Merry Christmas in July!!

"Have a holly jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year..." Wait, its not Christmas? Well we sure are celebrating Christmas in July here at Kanakuk! Over the past week as I have traveled around the Kamps I have heard Christmas music, seen Santa hats and smelled chocolate chip cookies being baked... its been a delight!







Every summer around this time different Kamps like to change things up a bit by surprising Kampers with Christmas in July! It's such a fun time for Kampers to wear green and red all day while listening to Christmas music across Kamp. There's nothing like blobbing, swimming or hanging out on treetops when it feels a little bit like Christmas! You might even see a snowball or two hand-crafted from the snow cone machines... we go all out around here!



Can you imagine if we had Kamp year-round? Now that would be a Christmas present of gigantic proportion!

Merry Christmas in July!

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