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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K-Seven Kamper win's BIG!

One of our Kampers, David Mullings (second from right), had a big win with his baseball team this summer. His team, El Paso Heat won the State of Texas - USSSA Little League - West Texas Division Tournament. The team had an unbelievable season as they went 22-7. We are so proud of you and your team David!

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Kanakuk-isms Monday "FOB"

Kamp has been around for over 85 years. In that time a ton of traditions have been built. A majority of those traditions are still around today for Kampers to enjoy the same way their parents and grandparents may have.


One tradition was set into place to help Kampers rest during their day, but it has changed a little bit over the years. "FOB" stands for flat on bunk and is a time right after lunch when Kampers go back to their bunks to rest. Although it was originally designed for Kampers to do exactly what it says; be flat on bunks to rest, this rarely happens.

As a Kamper, my counselors were a little more lenient on the rules of "FOB." It became a great time to write letters, play games, make bracelets or just talk to the other girls in your cabin. Many in the cabin would still take naps because lets be honest, Kamp is exhausting. FOB was always a highlight of the day for me because we got to slow down as a group from the business of the day and just enjoy each other.



Have you had an FOB today? If not, you should take a moment to slow down and enjoy the day God has given you!

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A day to be who God made you to be!

Many of our Kamps have at least one day during each term designated as "Man/Girl" day. This day may have different activities, but at the heart of the day is the opportunity for boys to just be boys and girls to just be girls. From painting their faces for war and going through an entire day of competition for the boys to painting their nails and putting on pageants for the girls these days are a blast to be at Kamp for because kids love them!





Typically, these days are more relaxed too. Kids get to sleep in a little, they get extra freetime, and the day is often ended with a message from a men's or women's director about the importance of being a man/woman of God. Yesterday was man/girl day at K-Seven and K-West and I had so much fun getting to be a part of it all. The days events consisted of teepee competitions and eating with your hands for the boys and tons of fun stuff for the girls including a counselor pageant where the girls were in charge of hair, makeup, wardrobe and talent.

It's good to be a man and a girl here at Kanakuk!

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POD day @KanakukK2

A new favorite at K-2 this summer is POD day. Every Wednesday Kampers get the opportunity to spend their morning and afternoon in a class they wouldn't otherwise get to do. These classes can be sports like basketball or tennis, or extreme sports like BMX or wake-boarding. Some Kampers even choose to take field trips to Dogwood Canyon where they get to go hiking and caving.



PODs are quickly becoming a favorite day at Kamp and it's clear why. Kampers get to experience things that push them. Events they would never be able to do back home are offered to them in an environment where they are set up to succeed. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?



If you are coming to the last term at K-2 this summer then get excited for PODs!

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Kanakuk Favorites: Danna's BBQ

On our way back from Lampe Kamps today the media team and I stopped at a Kamp hotspot. So of course I thought y'all needed to know about it too!

When it comes to Barbeque in Branson, Kanakuk staff love to stop by Danna's! With three locations from Branson West to Kirbyville our staff will drive any great distance to get this BBQ. It also serves as a great escape during 2-4's (24 hour periods our staff get off from Kamp).

When you go all you need to know is that EVERYTHING on the menu is good! If we had a pick though, our staff would probably recommend a loaded baked potato, the quesadillas or the nachos! You literally cannot go wrong with any of these options.

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Family, Fun and Fireworks

Family, fun, and fireworks. All of these are key ingredients to a successful 4th of July. As I spent the greater part of the day at K-Seven it was evident just how important each of these factors are at Kamp. Walking down the road towards the Chancey’s house I ran into many former leadership people in town for a special “family reunion” at K-Seven. Every year on the 4th you can find a group of friends or really family collected on the porch of the Chancey’s reminiscing on all the powerful things God has done at this Kamp over the past few decades.

Not only do we have reunions on the 4th, but we have parades too! Check out the pictures of our annual Lampe parade!

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Kanakuk - Newest BMX Track in Missouri

The beginning of the summer brought another new extreme sport to K-2. A BMX (bicycle motorcross) track has been put in. Now Kampers are given the opportunity to ride just like the original BMXer’s in California.

Putting in a BMX track at Kamp was no small task, our chief resident builder and creator of all things fun and exciting, Richard Parton has done an incredible job!

Kanakuk - Newest BMX Track in Missouri from Joe White on Vimeo.

Richard has been building and creating the exciting events at Kamp since the late 80’s. He’s the man who digs the holes, moves the dirt, builds the slip-n-slides and keeps Kamp running and beautiful all year round.

When I stopped by the BMX track at K-2 the other day I had so much fun watching Kampers. Guys were tearing up the track (I think that’s proper BMX lingo). Thanks Richard for creating another fun and exciting event for our Kampers!

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"I'm a F-A-N-A-T-I-C fanatic,

I rep Christ til I D-I-E, fanatic"


On Friday night one of Kamp’s favorite rappers, Lecrae, performed for our Kampers out at Kanakuk K-2 and you could feel the energy from miles around.

From this year’s theme song “Game On” to “Fanatic,” Lecrae sang with tons of his fans singing along with him.

We are so thankful for Lecrae taking the time to come perform for us!

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Friendly Rocks

Kanakuk is covered in pea gravel. You know, the kind of rocks that get stuck in your shoes and drive you nuts for days. It does however provide a resource for a Kamp tradition that has been around as long as I can remember. “Friendship Rocks” are rocks with holes all the way through them and they are a hot commodity this time of year. When a Kamper finds a rock with a hole in it they give it to a friend to wear. Believe me, it is a big deal to find a friendship rock. Walking through Kamp it isn’t considered strange to see a few kids sitting down and searching for friendship rocks.



Since there are millions of rocks all over Kamp, finding these rarities is both challenging and fun! As a former Kamper, every time I see a rock with a hole in it a flood of memories fill my mind of Kanakuk friends. It’s the little things that make this Kamp so magical. A place that sticks with you throughout your life...

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Kanakuk-isms Monday - Bumblebee Award

It's come to my attention that we here at Kanakuk say some pretty strange words and expect people to know what we are talking about. So it has been my executive decision to take a little time out of each Monday to define a few of these terms for you! Some times they might even have pictures!

Today's word is "Bumblebee." Some time during your Kamper's term someone will be given the bumblebee award. This award is given to the Kamper who overcomes a challenge they are faced with.

You see, bumblebees are said to overcome impossible odds whenever they fly. Their wings are so small that it would seem they would never be able to get off the ground. They do, however. They refuse to let anyone say they are incapable of doing something just because it may be challenging.

There are many big challenges at Kamp. Whether its a high element like the zipline or slide or something brand new like canoe or kayak. We love to be there to encourage Kampers when they aren't sure if they can do it. We want them to know that God created us each uniquely and just as he helps the bumblebee overcome incredible odds He will be with us and help us through anything we are faced with!

Bumblebees can fly! Just believe in yourself!

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Service with a Smile!

Giving up a week of your summer to go serve in a kitchen seems like a very unlikely request. Especially if you are asking a group of 9 highschool boys. But when the opportunity to come serve at Kanakuk's Family Kamp, K-Kauai, these boys they jumped at the chance!

These 9 boys traveled from Conway, Arkansas with their K-Life staff to Branson to serve. They have spent the past 4 days serving behind the scenes so the families at K-Kauai can enjoy their vacation. They serve tables during the meals, wash dishes, mop the dinning hall, and do the dirty work. But they do it all with a smile on their faces!

Next week another group of high school kids will be here to serve and the next week and the next. Throughout the whole summer there will be kids here serving and giving up a week of their summer so that they can help add to the kingdom one heart at a time.


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Game On Beats

A staple of summertime fun at Kanakuk is the summer theme - and no summer theme is complete without a theme song. The theme song provides the background music to every Kamper’s experience and without it… well Kamp would be much quieter. For the past few years Kanakuk has had the privilege of partnering with Christian Hip Hop artist Lecrae and other members of the hip hop collective 116 Clique to produce our summer theme song. 116-Clique a Christian hip hop collective is named after Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel…” This year’s song Game On, is another awesome track to add to your summer playlist.


(116 Clique pictured above. Tedashii, Pro, Sho Baraka, Trip Lee, and Lecrae)

Accompanying Lecrae on this year’s theme song are artists Tedashii, Pro, and Jai.
Tedashii is an accomplished performer who often works with Lecrae and whose albums have climbed the Billboard Christian and Gospel charts over the past few years.

Co-Founder of Reach Records, Lecrae has established himself at the forefront of Christian Rap. His influence extends into mainstream media and culture, and his albums continue to climb the ranks on iTunes and hit #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Christian and Billboard Gospel albums charts. It is an honor that he chooses to work with Kanakuk each summer.



Pro, the opener for the “Unashamed Tour” in 2010, has collaborated on several noteworthy projects and has watched his album Redemption find itself ranking on the Billboard charts as well.

For Jai, recently labeled a trailblazer for the underground Urban Gospel movement, this isn’t her first collaboration with the men of the 116 Clique. Recently participating in Lecrae’s 3rd album “Rebel” and Trip Lee’s single “The Invasion,” Jai has made a name for herself as a worship leader and speaker.

Download the song and jam with us all summer long.

Check out ReachRecords.com for more on Lecrae, Tedashii
and Pro and JustJai.com for more on Jai



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Anticipation and Excitement!!

Arriving at Kamp is like being shot out of a human cannon. From the moment you pull on the road leading to Kamp anticipation begins to rise. You know as soon as the car stops you will be bombarded by counselors dressed in crazy costumes who are super excited you are there! A couple of them will unload all your stuff and take it to your cabin while the others will show you how to find out what cabin you will be spending the next 7,14, or 28 nights in! You get introduced to the entire Kamp and your counselors energetically hug you and quickly whisk you away to your cabin where you can meet all your new cabin mates. And all of this happens in about a 10 minute time period. Talk about excitement!!





Our first batch of Kampers have made it through all of this and are now on their 2nd day of Kamp! The excitement never stops around here! Game On!

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Tearing down and packing up…

August 12 will mark the end of Kanakuk summer 2010. On that day Kanakuk-land will go from having roughly 1500 Kampers and 600 staff at breakfast to what could be considered a ghost-town by evening.

During the last 2-weeks of the summer the leadership, maintenance, and staff work very hard to begin taking down Kamp one piece at a time. Over a period of a few days basketball goals no longer have nets, trampolines just become large open holes in the ground, boats are scrubbed from bow to stern and even the blob is deflated. All of these things are then securely put away where they will be safe until Kampers come again next summer.

Amazingly, it is rare for a Kamper to notice all of these changes as they are being made. Directors are strategic in how they take apart Kamp so it does not affect the Kamper experience. As soon as a class is taught for the last time this summer the maintenance men come in and begin putting things away.

No one ever thinks about all the work that must go into putting together or taking apart Kanakuk in the summer, but this staff is trained from years of experience on how to do it as efficiently as possible. By the end of the day on Thursday Kanakuk will be wrapped up for a summer. Another fantastic summer where lives were changed and Christ was glorified.

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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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More than a summer camp

Well Kanakuk has officially been in session for 17 days! It’s amazing to think about all that has already occurred in the first two and a half weeks. By the sounds of the laughter around Kamp, I would say there is a lot of fun going on around here!

As a former Kamper myself, I remember the anticipation of counting down the days, packing up my trunk, driving in the Kamp gates as excitement grew and anxiously awaiting Kounselors dressed in crazy clothes to grab me out of my parents car and take me to my new home for the next two weeks. Kamp was a thrill disguised as one of the many things that shaped me into who I am today and I am so thankful for the memories.

Over the past few weeks I have been contacted by a few people who had amazing memories of Kamp and the impact it has had on their lives. In celebration of Kamp’s 85^th anniversary they wanted to share and thank Kamp for all it has done in them.

I would love to hear from you too! If you are a past Kamper, staff or even a parent of a current Kamper who has a fun story to tell about the impact Kamp has had please email it to us at Stocker@KLife.com or message Kanakuk Kamps on Facebook.

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5 Things about Summer Camp Photos

1. You can watch your kid having fun at camp!

When you chose Kanakuk for your child’s summer Kamp experience you knew they would be taken care of. But did you know each Kamp has their own photographer? We want you to be able to experience Kamp with your child as much as possible. We work hard to capture the fun, the adventure, and the fellowship your child experiences so that you can log on and be a part of it.

2. Photographers cover all areas of camp.

We know you want to see more than the evening activities your child is attending and that is why all of our photographers spend their days at Kamp going from one event to the next capturing as much as they can. Kanakuk has a ton of activities so this keeps them very busy but whether it is soccer on the upper-fields, lunch in the dinning hall, free time on the slides or Bible study in the outdoor chapel our photographers will be there ready to capture those “moments of wonder” we so frequently see at Kamp.

3. Finding photos online is easy.

Viewing these photos is simple. When you go to myKanakuk.com, simply sign in using your username and password. Choose your child and their current Kamp and term and you will find a place where you can look up your child’s pictures. This summer our goal is to provide more pictures to you than ever.

4. Photos are secure and not available to everyone.

We understand that the security of pictures of your children is not something to be taken lightly. That is why we have worked hard to make sure Kamp pictures are only available on the Kanakuk website. This is a secure location providing only the photos of your child’s Kamp and term. We understand the importance of security and that is why these pictures are only accessible with a username and password.

5.Photos available online the day after they are taken

We go through thousands of photos a day to make sure the photos you see are top quality. Please be patient with us. Photos taken on one day will be on the website by noon the following day. These pictures will be available for viewing and purchase all year @Kanakuk.com, but will be taken off our server May 1, 2011.

We are so excited your child is coming to spend a piece of their summer with us. We can’t guarantee they will write you every day, but we can promise we will do our best to capture them in all the fun they are having at Kanakuk.

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Kanakuk Summer Staff Make a Difference at K-State

Kanakuk Kamps summer staff, specifically Anna Zieger from K-West is heading up an organization at K-State called K-State Proud. Anna is the first girl in this video wearing a purple shirt. Anna is a great example of the kind of staff that Kanakuk Kamps hires each summer to serve. We are so proud of Anna and her group's work to share the Kanakuk spirit and the love of Christ on the Kansas State campus.



Kanakuk Kamps counselor Anna Zieger and K-State Proud

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New Summer Camp Web Features

Two Great Ways to Learn What Summer Camp is Like

If you are looking for a way to learn more about summer camping for your child there are two new resources at www.kanakuk.com.

The first resource is a "Video Wall". In 18 minutes you can see a typical day at summer camp, see the counselors in action, see the positive impact summer camping can have on a child, see the touching story of one counselor and a camper, and here from one mother what camp was like for her child. In the next several days this video wall will also have links to comments about Kanakuk from Chuck Swindoll and Gary Smalley.



The second resource is a video from Joe White regarding the importance of making memories with your children. This is the first video edition of the popular "You and Your Child" series. There are three steps to making memories with your kids and stories from Joe's time growing up at Kanakuk. You can see the K-1 counsel ring teepee and fire in this video.




We hope you enjoy these new resources and can share them with a friend.


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