Kanakuk Starts Year-round Friendships

K-Seven Kampers work together during challenge course activity.

We love hearing from our Kamp family—especially when you tell us how Kamp principles impact you and your kids back home.  It totally makes our day when we hear about someone in our Kamp family stretching her faith to the next level, and depending on Kamp friends and counselors during the year to strengthen her walk with Christ.  

Just recently, a K-Seven Kamp mom sent me an encouraging letter about her high school daughter Kelsey. Here is an excerpt from that letter:

Kanakuk is, in my opinion, one of the very best spiritual investments a parent can make for their children.  It has instilled in Kelsey a love for God, His word, and the importance of staying connected to a small group of Godly people who encourage and hold you accountable.  Kelsey’s best friend is a fellow Kamper who’s been with her the past 3 summers.  They live 5 hours apart but talk regularly, and Hannah is who Kelsey calls when she needs to talk to a Godly friend.

Just last month, she called Becca, one of her counselors from 2 years ago, and got tremendous encouragement from her.  Becca had Kelsey going all through the Bible, using scripture to help her.  Wow!  What a comfort to a mom, when we need spiritual help in raising our kids!

Kids are our greatest national resource; each one is uniquely made and important to God. Our desire is to place tools in the hands of our Kampers, so that when they get home, they understand how to live with integrity, how to stand up to peer pressure, and how to stay encouraged in their walk with Christ. Hearing how Kelsey stays strong by locking arms with her Kamp friends and counselors  is exactly what our Kamp family is all about:  Helping each Kamper influence and make an eternal impact within her circle of friends...so that the love of Christ is spread to every life, every home, every neighborhood.  

One Heart at a Time.

How has Kamp impacted you / your family?

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Faith in the trees

Over the years as a Kanakuk Kamper and staff person there were many things that challenged & strenthened my faith. As an 8-year-old at K-7 I put my faith in Christ as I accepted Him as my Savior. When I was 10, I learned about faith as I built up the courage to go off of the K-7 trapeze into the pool for the first time. When I was 13, my faith was strengthened as I was went to K-West for 2 weeks instead of my regular 1 week term. As a staff my faith was strengthened in learning how to find energy from the Lord morning after morning.

Kamp’s structure increases confidence, maturity and most of all strengthens faith. High-ropes elements are a key part to all of this. The first time I can remember having to put faith in something other than myself was when I was faced with the treetops course at K-7.

I was in teepee 9, and I had waited for such a long time to be old enough to do treetops. With confidence I put on my harness, grabbed my partner, said my commands and began my assent into the trees. Having never been scared of heights before I began the first challenge and encouraged my hesitant partner out onto the swinging log. We made it through and were off to the polls that were shaped like a diamond. This was said to be the hardest element in treetops and it didn’t take my partner and I long to realize we needed each other to make it through this one. As we got to the hardest part, bothwith tears in our eyes and fear covering our faces we froze. The view to the ground was terrifying and the fact that we were harnessed in completely left us. We were scared, and we didn’t know what to do.

It was at that point that a kind familiar voice from below called out to us. “Girls, you can do this, I have faith in you,” our counselor was below cheering us on. As we began to take another step, my partner Sarah’s foot slipped and we both went tumbling. Our harnesses caught us and we both began to laugh. We had forgotten the most important part was that no matter what we did we weren’t going to fall too far because we were harnessed.

It was that day that faith became real for Sarah and I. It was the first time either of us had experienced an illustration of faith. After we were off of treetops our counselor came and talked to us about it. She helped us process how our faith is similar to treetops. There will be times when we are terrified and don’t know what to do and that is when we remember God is in control.

It is moments and memories like this that impact kids every day at Kanakuk. And for these moments I am eternally grateful.

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Closing out the first few terms at Kamp

Well it is that time of the summer. The time when a third of the way through we have a huge exchange of people at Kamp. One week, two week and month long terms all will be drawing to a close this Friday.

During the few days leading up to the close of a term it always seems to be jam-packed with everything Kampers and counselors want to make sure and do before they head back to their homes. During the past week I have spent a large amount of my time out at Kamp capturing these last few memories and moments that make Kanakuk the indescribable place that it is! Praise the Lord for an awesome first few terms! So excited to see what He has planned for the rest of the summer!

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