Say "goodbye" to say "hello!"

It's Friday, which means tonight is parents night at Kanakuk. Parents are on their way as we speak to come pick up their kiddos who have been away from them for 7-28 days. In Kamp world we call this "changeover" as it marks a huge change in the Kamp environment when so many Kampers go home and many new Kampers arrive!


This weekend we refer to it as a BIG changeover. Today every Kamp saying "goodbye" to the Kampers they have had and "hello" to new Kampers tomorrow. On top of that, many Kamps are also getting new staff to finish off the summer with.

All this to say, there will be a lot of smiles, laughter and tears over the next 24 hours as reunions and departures are happening all around us.


So thankful to call this place home.

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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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Honoring Heros in our Family

On the day we are celebrating freedom and the birth of our nation you can’t help but take a moment to think about all the people who have fought and are fighting for us overseas. Our very own Patty McDonnell got to recognize military personnel in a very special way when she accompanied her father, Leon Briggs, on the Missouri Honor Flight on June 14.

The trip was less than 24 hours and took Patty, her father and others to Washington D.C. to see the new WWII Memorial and then back to Springfield. What made this day even more special was that it took place on the 236th anniversary of the army (the branch her father was in) and 2 days after Patty’s father's 89th birthday.

Patty said the entire day was about celebrating her father as a hero. The day was completed with a band greeting them when they landed back in Springfield. While walking to their car at the end of the day Patty’s father turned to her and said “… but I was just a foot soldier, nothing special,” to which Patty responded telling him he was a hero and that day hundreds of people confirmed that!

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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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Let the 4th of July Celebrations begin!

It’s 4th of July week and Kamp is celebrating in style. As I write this I can hear firecrackers being set off across the street at K-Kountry during one of their morning skits. Kampers are cheering loudly and you can tell the energy level is rising as we quickly approach this weekend’s festivities.

During the 4th of the July all schedules are changed and we spend the whole day celebrating. The Kampers often have longer “free-time,“ dress in stars and stripes and generally spend the entire day in celebration!

A highlight of the day at K-Seven and K-Kountry is a counselor-constructed parade that goes through the middle of Kamp. Kampers line the streets like NYC on Thanksgiving and counselors hand out icy-juicies while dressed in crazy costumes and riding on floats. This is typically followed by all you can eat watermelon and an old fashion rootbeer for each Kamper.

The day is finished off with all the Kamps coming together in Lampe and in Branson to enjoy a traditional fireworks show under the stars.

Our nations birthday is a big deal at Kanakuk. We love a good reason to celebrate all week long! How are you celebrating this year?

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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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Life Applications

Every day our Kampers are kept busy as they move from one class to the next. Smiles abound as they learn how to sail, blob and canoe for the first time. At the end of every class we circle up and talk about “Life applications.” Life Apps. are an explanation of how we can apply the event we just did to what God wants us to remember in life about Him. During life apps. counselors are often reminded why Scripture says we are to have faith like a child.

A few summers ago I spent a lot of time down at the dock and it was there that I heard my favorite Life App. When driving a group of younger girls on boats one day a little girl shared with me that she already had her Life App. prepared for the end of class. This little girl explained that the boat was God, the tube was her walk with God and the rope in between was prayer and reading the Bible (the things that connect her to God). She said that some days it’s really hard to stay on her walk because the waves (devil) are constantly trying to knock her off. She then said that she trusts the boat and knows it will not leave her alone in the middle of the lake, but that it will always turn around and pick her back up when she falls off. So simple. So true.



There are many many more stories just like this that have been shared by Kampers over the years. Often it seems that we as staff can learn more from kids than we think simply because of their innocent faith.

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Kanakuk Health Centers

K-Kountry Health Center

K-1 Health Center

Collectively, Kanakuk staff and Kampers spend more than 123,000 "days" at Kamp during the summer! Those days are packed with dozens of activities and fun adventures indoors and out. Tremendous importance is placed on safety and healthy spiritual and physical habits. But, with all the excitement comes regular health needs of Kampers, the normal scrapes and bruises, and the occasional activity related injury. Each Kanakuk Kamp maintains and staffs a health center with compensated RN's, volunteer nurse helper moms, and volunteer physicians. These health centers, their equipment, policies and staff are managed year-round by a Kanakuk employed Health Services Director. Kanakuk families help us keep their Kampers healthy and our Health Centers running efficiently by completing health information during the enrollment process and updating us on any changes. Our health center staff understand their care provides everyone a chance to enjoy Kamp to the fullest! We are all very thankful for their service and dedication.


- Living the dream at the happiest place on earth! - Ashley

Kanakuk-isms Monday

Tribals is a term we use quite a bit at Kanakuk. When a Kamper comes for a term 2 weeks or longer, they are put into a tribe that they will compete with during the course of their time here.

There are two girls tribes and two guys tribes and let me tell you competition can get pretty crazy between these 4 groups. But before competition can begin, they must be put into tribes.


Typically the second or third night of Kamp all of the Kampers gather around a campfire where they watch an authentic tribal dance paired with a ceremony where it is announced who will be in what tribe. This is a very special time with Kampers because it’s a tradition but also because it is often unlike anything these kids have ever seen!

During the ceremony, Kampers are placed in the Cherokee or Choctaw tribes if they are guys and the Kickapoo or Kiowa tribes if they are girls.


Then the competition begins. Over the course of their term they will have tons of competitions between the tribes to see who is the stronger team. They learn teamwork, unity, and discipline as they are led by their respective Princesses or Chiefs.

Tribals. just another thing that makes Kanakuk so unique.

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