Thank you to my first counselors

I realize that most of your reading this blog were non-existent in 1982. When you think of the 1980's you probably think of Atari, Madonna, leg warmers, pastel colors, Knight Rider and the A-Team. But for me, 1982 was life-changing. I was fortunate to be a Kanakuk kamper! It was my very first summer. My counselors were Randy from Texas Tech, and Steve from Kansas State. I've never forgotten them. I saw in these two guys an authentic love and friendship with Jesus. Their lives had direction, purpose beyond themselves, and freedom to be themselves! I was already a Christian, but I remember praying in my bunk one night, "God, if I didn't really ask you into my heart the first time, I really ask that you come into my life now. I want to be yours and live for you." My experience at Kamp that summer has defined who i am. That is, a man who seeks to live for Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit and God's grace. I am forever indebted to Christ, and indebted to my counselors, and all at Kanakuk who "let their light shine." Because of this indebtedness, it is my joy and passion to live in such a way that demonstrates my gratitude.

Hit of Summer 2010 Makes Primetime

You heard it first at K-West this summer, but Trip Lee's "The Invasion (Hero)" recently made it to primetime television. This song was one of the most requested songs at camp this summer, is bold for Christ and is fun to see being broadcasted to millions. Camp music is awesome...look for more of your favorite songs to be highlighted in the future!

Exciting Additions to Kwest!

The Kwest Konstruction Krew never sits still. The moment kamp was over, Craig and his crew went to work on their list of upgrades for next summer. They want things to be better for the kampers, staff, and leadership who will be back next year.

Pictured above is one of the new projects for 2011. Pretty neat to see how fast things change around kamp. We are continuing to make upgrades to our bunkhouses, facilities, courts, and fields. New glass backboards for the Kdome on all of the goals, an overhaul of the mountain bike fleet, rumors of new slip n slides (just to mention a few of the things we have going).

Kamp might seem empty right now as far as the kampers are concerned, but it bristling with activity and plenty of new projects. Stay tuned to see what's new for 2011. Hang on and get excited for new and never seen before adventure.

K-West September Devotional by Todd Rapp

Have you ever wondered where some of the names of the NFL teams came from? In an article published online by Scott Allen "What's in a Nickname? The Origins of All 32 NFL Team Names" dated September 1, 2010, Scott tells some of the stories behind the nicknames of the NFL's current teams. For instance, the Arizona Cardinals (originally the Chicago Cardinals) got their name because the owner of the team purchased some used jerseys in 1901 from the University of Chicago. They were a faded maroon color, which looked "cardinal red." Thus, the team took the name for the Cardinal bird.



The Miami Dolphins had a name-the-team contest. The winner was picked not only because the owner liked her suggestion of the Dolphin, but because she was the only one to accurately predict the result of the Miami and Notre Dame game. She had used her Magic 8-ball toy to do so!



Finally, a distant relative of mine, named Julia Elliott picked the nickname "Falcons" for the Atlanta franchise. Her suggestion was selected by the team owner after reading her depiction of a falcon. She won four season tickets for three years and a football autographed by the entire 1966 inaugural team. I wonder how much that football is worth today! I wish I could say I inherited it, but I wasn't so (lucky) blessed.



When it came time for Bronwyn to give birth to each of our four boys, we were completely in the dark as far as what to name our boys---except for their middle names. Their middle names are Biblical heroes---men that I hope my sons grow up to be like. I want them to associate themselves with these awesome men so they might be inspired to live up to their name.



In thinking about names, I was wondering what names God uses in reference to you and me? What is our identity in His eyes? They aren't personal pronouns, but they make up our identity in His eyes! Here are just a few:



He calls you His beloved. (1 John 3:3)



He calls you His child. (John 1:12)



He calls you His masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10)



He calls you His friend. (John 15:14)



He calls you His heir. (Romans 8:17)



He calls you a saint. (Ephesians 1:1)



He calls you His co-worker. (2 Corinthians 6:1)



He calls you His. (Colossians 3:12)



You mean more to Him than you can ever fathom (Psalms 139), and nothing can ever take away His love for you (Romans 8).



He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things (Romans 8:32)?



Soak this in for awhile.



As you are taking flight this semester, enjoy the companionship of the Almighty who goes with you!



We sure love and appreciate you, and hope you are flying high on the wings of the Lord. I know God is going to use you to continue to make impacts for eternity in the lives of those around you. Thanks for being such a superstar.



To God be the glory forever,

Todd

Oh Deer!

The picture you see was taken by me a couple days ago as I was driving past one of the football fields at K-1. I don't know if you can see them, but there are twelve deer feeding! They just move around our little neighborhood like they were at a wildlife park, free as can be! My kids love looking out the window at the deer. Carter wants to yell at them and scare them. I have to restrain him. There are just a few bucks, a few fawns, and a lot of mommas. The only negative thing about all the deer is that they like to cross the street a lot, and we have to be very observant as we drive around the neighborhood. They are always in search of peaceful, green pastures and good food! And so it is with you and I in a spiritually sense. We are to be like deer in the way we seek God, and find our peace and sustenance in Him.

1 As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, O God.

² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

³ My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"

⁴ These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and ⁶ my God.
My ^c]">[c] soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

⁷ Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I say to God my Rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?"

¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"

¹¹ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Enjoy some great solitude time with God today!

The New Girl's Attempts at Being Faithful

Introducing...Lindsay Rother! I am the K-West Intern for this year, which means I do whatever Ward, Beth and Todd tell me to do. Kidding. I get to work alongside the leadership of K-West to make this place an even more exciting adventure for you next summer. I get to travel the country interviewing staff to make our campers' time at camp the best it can be. Basically, I have the best first "big kid job" I can imagine and am grateful to get to be a part of a ministry that stands on truth. I'll be contributing on the blog, and I'd like to tell you a bit of my story so you feel like you actually know who you're hearing from throughout the year, so here it is.

After graduating from Oklahoma State University (Go POKES!) in 2009, I found myself moving to Branson one year ago to begin my year at the Kanakuk Institute, a program for college graduates that equips young people for a lifetime of ministry. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I did know I wanted my life to be based on truth. I knew if I sold myself out to studying the Bible for eight months, I couldn't go wrong. This held up to be true. I learned more in eight months than probably my entire life combined, and I now have a foundation to build on for the rest of my life.

As the year progressed, I began to think more and more about what I'd be doing afterward. It was time to grow up and get a "big kid job." However, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to be a "light" in whatever my career was, but I didn't wake up knowing I wanted to be a doctor or a business woman everyday for the rest of my life. I simply wanted to interact with people on a daily basis and live my life in a way that I earned the right to tell them why I was different...only because Christ had made me new.

So, I went into summer 2010 for potentially my final summer at K-West not having a clue what I'd be doing on August 13th (the end of camp). Honestly, this scared me to death because I'm a planner, but I committed to attempting to be content in the Lord and trust Him. How do you job search when you are in Lampe, MO with limited Internet and phone access? Not to mention, I wanted to be investing in our campers, our staff and the Word. So, I wrestled with figuring out what it means to be proactively patient. How do you trust the Lord and not sit back just waiting for a job to fall into your lap?

I decided to sell out to K-West this summer. I chose to be whole-heartedly where I was in the moment rather than living in the midst of future plans. I opted to do the only thing I knew to do during the unknown: I tried to live out one of my favorite challenges from Scripture. Luke 16:10-"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much." I did my best to simply be faithful in the daily things. This taught me to truly live in the present, on daily bread, and find true contentment in our Savior.

On July 30th, I still had no idea what was happening when camp ended in two weeks. My daily prayers were to remain content in the Lord, live in the present and maybe have a bit of direction when I left camp. At 2 o'clock on the 30th, an opportunity in OKC, OK sort of fell into my lap and at 5 o'clock I was offered a full-time job to work for Kanakuk Kamps this year. I went from having zero options to having two great ones. Since you are reading this now, it is evident I took the position with camp and am living in Branson for a second year. Little did I know when I ventured here five years ago to be a counselor for a summer that I would have my first "big kid job" at the same place.

Today, I hope my story is a testament to truly finding peace and contentment in our Lord. This may be the thing I pray for most in my life because the world becomes appealing to me and I find myself wanting more. The truth is: the Lord is enough. He is faithful. In this season of my life, I'm learning about the importance of trust and faith. The importance of remaining faithful regardless the cost. God is faithful. Scripture tells us that in Deuteronomy 7:9..."Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God..."

Be faithful in the little things today. When you are in the midst of the unknown, remain faithful to our God. Let the word faithful become a character quality in which people describe you.

He Found a Good Thing

Solomon was right when he wrote, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord."



Will knew when he found something good and he is holding on to it. Will Certain and Nicole Downs were recently engaged to be married. We couldn't be more excited about this dynamic couple and their future together.



Apart from each other, these two KWest staffers have been stellar in their work with kampers and ministry. Together, we all know that they will even be better.



We can't wait for the wedding day. The Lord has certainly blessed these two beyond their wildest dreams! Congratulations.

Kamp Life

Kamp Life

It's fairly well known among the Kwest circle that I often refer humorously to most music we play in our chuck wagon as "angry rap." Secretly I would say that I do like most rap music (just ask Befort...he and I have often been guilty of freestyle rap after everyone leaves the kitchen...much to the disbelief the kitchies).

The hottest thing to hit the press today is a funny free style rap that may just rocket to the top of the charts this week. Check it out...and get ready to laugh because there are some fun surprises, including a little appearance by Joe White himself.

Over the years, I have enjoyed how music has played such an important part of what we do in the summer. It helps tell the story of what "kamp life" is really all about (thanks Smitty, LaCrae, Billy, Rick, Kim, and the hosts of others that have blessed us with cutting edge worship and fun).

Let me know what you think of this new video. Hats of to Tim, Jay, and the video crews that make it all happen.

Have a fun weekend and dream about kamp life!

Kamp Friends are the Best Friends

One of wonderful blessings of being at Kwest during the summer are the friendships that are formed. It doesn't matter whether you're making new friends, keeping existing ones intact, or reconnecting with the past friends from years gone by. Hands down, kamp friendships are the best.

This week I found boredom fairly quickly when I returned to piles of papers and boxes of stuff to move back to the main office. I hopped on the phone and started to call folks and check in with them to see how things were going.

When you walk outside the kamp gates, the reality of the world hits you hard. Kamp really is a mountain top experience...every time anyone visits. It was good for me to hear encouragement and cheerful voices on the other end of the line. The Kwest family is tight. Friendship is sweet especially when you share kamp as the common denominator.

On that note, I want to say thanks to all my friends who helped chip in for my birthday present this year. After riding the past 10 years on a "old" (to put it politely) road bike, I am now the happy owner of a sweet Specialized bike that I can't believe I get to ride (I went this morning and almost skipped work because I was having too much fun). All thanks to my kamp friendships. Without them, it would have never happened.

I stopped by University Bikes in Boulder, Colorado last week while on vacation. Its a massive bike store located just a few blocks from the University of Colorado. Jesse (pictured above) along with Justin (a fitter and mechanic) became two more new friends that helped me out in a big time way.

I love what kamp friendships bring into your life: encouragement, challenges, uplifting words, and supportive (and sometimes very random) acts of kindness.

Thanks to everyone who made my half of century birthday my best one yet. Kamp friends truly are the BEST!!

Staying Strong and Standing Firm

Most of the time, I don't like paperwork.



Following the closing of kamp and a short vacation, I came back to stacks of papers on my desk. One particular pile was several inches high and needed my attention. To be honest, I would rather be out on the courts teaching kampers about free throws and the verse of the day than sitting in my chair shuffling through papers.



I help oversee the safety of all of our kamps during the summer operation. I have now for over 25 years. Trust me, I have seen my fair share of reports, studies, and even safety tickets (email me if you want to hear more about that area). They make wonderful stacks of paper and make me wonder how many trees were sacrificed to make it all happen.



But not this pile. This one was different. The pile that was several inches high sitting square in the middle of my desk was a stack of letters. They were from kampers....kampers who were writing to tell me how they are doing with their year long Bible Study. Trust me...I was eager to tackle this mound and be blessed.



Every year thousands of kampers choose to sign up for Victors Crown and Champions Walk Bible study. They commit to reading their Bible daily and staying on track with memory work, application, and accountability. It may be one of the best kept secrets of our ministry.



Helping kids stay connected to the Word of God, applying it's principles, and having local accountability gets all of us here in Kuk Land excited to come to the office. It's what we dream will happen post summertime when everyone goes home for the year: they keep going and they stay strong.



From little towns where no Klife clubs exist, all the way across the ocean to places like France, I signed letters and wrote encouragement to kampers who are fighting to live out the I'm Third life at home, school, and with friends. It's not easy, but I sure am proud of those who are getting it done.



My hats off to you who are choosing to live out your faith back home. Be bold. Be strong. Know that we are proud of you and your journey.