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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Walking Your Family Through Pain

The following email was sent from Joe White to all Kanakuk families that we have valid emails for. Not all of you can receive emails so he wanted me to share this with you.

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Dear Kanakuk Families,

Last night I was in the home of a truly amazing mom. To her husband, her three kids and to me she is every bit of that and more. Double-mastectomy, months of chemotherapy and then the tragic loss of her close friend. I learned a lot last night in that home. Her family, and quite honestly my family, and much of our greater Kamp family tonight are wanting help when life becomes exceedingly difficult. How do I help my kids understand? How do I help my kids walk through sadness and difficult circumstances that are beyond my control?

Over the past three days, I have penned my best thoughts and some things that I have learned over the years from my long time friends Dr. Gary Smalley, Dr. James Dobson, and mainly from 36 years of priceless conversations with our Kamp families who also have asked, “Where is God when life doesn’t make sense?”

Click here to read: Walking Your Family Through Pain

In His strength,

Joe White

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The Lord Lives!

Do you ever read Proverbs and the Psalms by what day of the month it is? I do, and today the 18th Psalm verse 46 reminded me of an old church camp song from when I was a kid. The chorus was straight from scripture...

"The Lord livith and blessed be the Rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted."

The version I'm reading tonight is slightly different, but in my heart the words above are forever burned. Those memories from summers at camp reminded why it's so important for me to be here today making sure that I do my small part in helping Kanakuk connect with you.

Before Christ came to earth God was my salvation, my Rock and He's alive! That's exciting to me. I hope it is for you too. Does any one have memories of that song from your childhood? If I could carry a tune I'd post audio :-)

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Official Kanakuk Statement

The following statement was released by Kanakuk Kamps COO Doug Goodwin on 9/15/09.

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Statement from Kanakuk Kamps
by Doug Goodwin

Our camp family was deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the allegations involving a former employee. The alleged behavior is counter to everything we believe in, everything we stand for and everything we work to instill in the young people who come to us seeking to grow personally and in their relationship with Christ.

Our prayers and thoughts are with those who have been affected, and we have worked closely with authorities investigating this matter.
Most importantly, we have offered our assistance to the alleged victims and their families. We are committed to protecting their privacy, and we cannot say anything further about the allegations at this time.

For years, we have had very clear policies and extensive training in place for all staff regarding appropriate behavior. Our staff members go through background checks. In light of this situation, we’ve reviewed and, where appropriate, updated our policies to reinforce our commitment to the families we serve.

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E-Mail to All Kamp Families RE: Former Employee

The following email was sent to all the valid family emails that Kanakuk Kamps had on Monday at 4:30 pm. We know not all of you received it for one reason or another and wanted to make it available here. Thank you for your many emails of support.

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Dear (Kamp Families),

For the last 34 years, Debbie Jo and I have poured our hearts and prayers into this beloved place. Therefore it is with a heavy heart that I am writing to you today regarding a difficult situation.

Because you are an important part of the Kanakuk family, we wanted to make you aware that earlier today, the Taney County Missouri prosecutor filed a four-count criminal complaint against our former employee, Pete Newman. As you may know, Pete Newman was employed at K-Kountry. The prosecutor’s criminal charges allege that Pete engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with adolescent boys, including some who had been Kanakuk Kampers.

When we became aware of this situation we took immediate action, terminating Pete Newman’s employment. Since that time, we have been working closely with the affected families and appropriate authorities. We reported what we knew to investigators and stayed in contact throughout the process, providing whatever assistance we could. We have also offered our assistance to the impacted families. Our fervent prayers are with those who have been impacted. We look forward to the completion of the legal process to ensure that justice is served.

As you know, Pete Newman’s alleged behavior is counter to everything we believe in, everything we stand for and everything we work to instill in the young people who come to us seeking to grow personally and in their relationship with Christ. In fact, for years, we have had very clear policies and extensive training in place for all staff regarding appropriate behavior. Our staff members go through background checks, personal interviews and extensive training on our policies.

We understand the difficulty that this situation causes you and your children. We pledge to work with you to help you address questions your children may have. Kanakuk is a family, and families often face challenging times. We also pledge that Kanakuk will continue to do all we can to champion efforts to prevent inappropriate behavior from occurring at any camp.

If you have questions or concerns about this situation, please e-mail me at joe@kanakuk.com.

Thank you for being part of the Kanakuk family.

In Christ,

Joe White

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How old should your child be when they go to camp?

I recently had the following email exchange with a Kamp family. I thought many of our Kamp families might relate and be able to share their own stories of younger syblings yearning for Kamp!
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Dear Kanakuk,

Our children are at K-7 right now (max and libby) and we are just so grateful to Kanakuk for providing THE BEST summers of their lives. Our 6 year old Maddy is counting down until she gets to go next year. Thanks so much for your commitment to Christ and kids. Thanks too for all the updates on the flu issue. We never had any doubt that Kamp would be the safest place to be for our kids due to all of you. We sure appreciate all of you.

Thanks so much,
Ryan and Rochelle

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Dear Ryan and Rochelle,

When our Kamp families take the time to write us an encouraging email, our hearts melt! As a fellow Kamp parent I would like to take a few minutes to share a story with you about my daughter Hannah. She’s 8 and has now attended Kamp for two summers. Her two older brothers have attended for many years. When Hannah was 4 years old getting ready to turn 5, people would ask her how old she was going to be and she would answer “7”. One day I was able to convince her that “No sweetie, you are going to be 5.” She finally agreed and said “OK, but next year I’ll be 7!” All because 7 is that magic age when our kids get to go to Kamp! What a special opportunity that we can send our kids to be with people like Keith Chancey and these incredible college staffers. We give God all the praise! Thanks for pulling along side us. We want to do the same for your family. Have a great rest of the summer and school year!

Jay Holden
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Jay,

Thanks for writing us back. Great story and feel free to share our comment. Kanakuk is the greatest place on Earth--I just wish I was still a Kamper!! Of course, they had another great time as we picked up yesterday.

God bless you all,
Rochelle and Ryan

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Leave a comment below. We'd love to hear your story too!


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In Response to a Kanakuk Health Update

The following message was received from one of our Kanakuk Kamp families this afternoon in response to our latest Health Update email:

Our family has appreciated hearing from Kamp since the spring regarding "everything swine flu." We have only faith and confidence in "everything Kamp." Our son was there term 7, our 33rd Kamp week as a family. July 18, 1997 was our first week at Kamp, our girls 8 and 7 (in fact, this was her 7th birthday), and we have been coming to K-Seven, term 7, ever since. Sarah, our oldest, was a ten year Kamper, Alice was a 12 year Kamper and Mark an 11 year Kamper. Once we started attending, they came every possible year until they became too old, or a college student. Sarah worked as a K-Seven kitchie the summer after her last year as a Kamper. The past two summers she has been a part of a Student Mobilization ministry called Kaleo, which has taken her to Breckenridge for most of the summer. She did interview for a Kamp position this summer and had an offer, but felt she needed to return to the Kaleo project. Alice worked as a K-Seven kitchie for the first half of the summer and truly loved it!!! Of course, she now has many new friends from the kitchie and cook cabin, as well as those who she trained with. She knew many at Kamp, both Kampers and staff, and had a wonderful experience. She was home only a few days before returning to volunteer for the weekend. We live under an hour and a half away, so Alice usually spent her 2-4s at home and brought friends, even laundry of other friends. We loved it! Our son also returned to volunteer and had to come home early after he became ill. I received a phone call from the nurse; after our conversation she handed the phone to the doctor; she then handed the phone to the director. Though we have never doubted that our children, even as employees, are given the very best of care, I have used this as an example for other families who have been concerned about the flu. I assured them that we had no reservations with our two children there, one for half the summer and another as a Kamper, then let them know about our experience in the health center. I should add that I did return to Kamp to pick Mark up. He was feeling better, but was going home soon anyway, so no need to hang out at Kamp sick. He did not have the flu, but since we were leaving for vacation, our local doctor treated him and he is fine. When I arrived at 9:30 pm or so, the nurse's office was abuzz. There were several nurses and helpers there, along with Chancey, attending to Mark and others who were under the weather. It just underscored that our children are in good and capable hands at Kamp. I am hopeful that our kids will return to Kamp as employees next summer. We love Kanakuk Kamps!!!

Special thanks to you and all the Kamp staff for all you do.

K-Seven Kamp Family, Bentonville, AR

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Kanakuk Kamps Health Update

The following email was sent to valid email addresses of all 2009 Kanakuk Kamps families on 7-30-09 approximately 11:00am CST.
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The summer is flying by, and we continue to be blessed beyond measure! This last week has been unseasonably cool at night, warm and mostly sunny during the days. Perfect summer Kamp weather!

This summer has been 99% amazing in countless ways. Our focus has remained strong to see changed lives and reinforced morals and values and kids walking away with big smiles, great memories and a solid vibrant relationship with Christ. We’ve never had a better summer regarding that mission! The summer flu has been a challenge at times but not ever insurmountable. This term has been our best all summer. All of our Kamps except for one have had zero, one or two cases. One Kamp, on the boys’ side only, has continued to struggle. With the changeover, that should be alleviated. The boys germ-x and wash their hands at least six times per day and the cabins are sanitized at least two times per day. That Kamp is as vigilant as it gets. While this flu has modest symptoms, it is very contagious.

Reflecting back over the summer, we are most thankful for the support of our Kamp families. Despite the challenges with the flu you have been patient with us as we sought to provide the safest camping environment possible. We continue to be vigilant in the sanitizing of our facilities and monitoring each Kamper’s health. We will continue the pre-Kamp screening process for Kampers riding our buses and arriving via car or plane. We continue to see positive improvement from the efforts of all of us working together.

As we have communicated with you this summer, many of our families have taken the opportunity to reply with kind words and stories of the impact that Kanakuk continues to have on your children. Several families have voiced concerns about the flu, and we have enjoyed getting to know you better as we worked through the uncertainties. This really has been a time when the whole Kanakuk family has come together.

From my post here at K-Kauai, Kanakuk’s Family Kamp, I have witnessed myself and heard the reports of nurses, helpers and volunteer physicians in our health centers performing with great sacrifice, always seeking to serve first and rest only when their best had been done - an inspiring example of the “I’m Third” life being lived out as an example of Christ. It has been a tremendous blessing to share this summer with you and your children.

We will continue to keep you posted during these last few weeks of the summer. Thank you again for your grace and understanding.

Blessings,


Doug Goodwin
Chief Operating Officer
Kanakuk Ministries

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Kids Across America Shortens Session due to H1N1

Today, Kids Across America closed it's three camps early due to a number of campers that had the symptoms associated with H1N1. Some of their campers had tested positive for the influenza A strain named H1N1.

All the KAA camps will reopen, as scheduled on Monday, July 20th. This will give them time to thoroughly sanitize their facility. They needed to close all three facilities because, Kids Across America campers typically arrive on church buses that carry campers for all three of their camps. This created a scenario in which they would need to release all the camps so that they could travel back the way they came.

KAA is working closely with the health department and are following very similar protocols to what Kanakuk Kamps does.

Kids Across America is a donor supported camping experience for urban youth. It's camps are located in the Golden, Missouri area on Table Rock Lake.
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