Omaha

Omaha Klife was our stop tonight. Battle of the Bands led the way for some Jr High and Sr High clubs tonight, while we slipped in the Movie Tour video and a few kamp stories. It's neat to know that Klife has grown to over 40 cities now. Where ever we visit these days, it seems we run into Klife folks.

After the show we bolted to a near by Village Inn to thaw out. Matt and Mark Demmel, along with Tim Ebers surfaced at the show so we had a quick Kwest reunion. That's another nice thing about traveling. There is always someone old or new from the Westside and plenty of stories to catch up on. It was a sweet night for sure.

By the way, it's even more cold tonight than it was yesterday. Where is that Florida trail?

Cool Down

Chris Williams and I crawled into a kamp van this morning and left for Nebraska. While some other fortunate Kanakuk Movie travelers visited sun kissed states like Florida and California, we put on long underwear and headed to the frozen tundra.

The further north we drove the further the temperature dropped. As I sit in our Hampton Inn tonight, the wind is howling at the window sounding like a cheap Hoover vacuum cleaner with carpet stuck in the rollers.

Despite being a bit on the cool side, the show was really fun. The interviews were encouraging and the potential to have some great staff was certainly energizing for us. It's always neat to see God orchestrate His plan as he picks just the right staff for the exact needs of our kampers who will be in the bunks.

One of the highlights of the night was seeing our campus reps creativity. After the video was over, Brooke and Amanda used the AV equipment to go on line, secure the Vikings/Saints game on the internet, and kicked back to watch while we interviewed. Props to them for their creativity AND their passion for football. I forgot that EVERYONE in Lincoln is a crazy about football.

I like the University of Nebraska. The people are fun, the Union is nice, and it has so much tradition. It's a pretty cool place...literally.

Add This to Your Bucket List

On our tour through Texas, we stumbled on to an old Kanakuk friend and a new must see stop for all Kanakuk folks.

In 1983, the year Kwest opened, Cecil Eager was coaching Tennis at Abilene Christian University. Joe convinced him to take the lead and pioneer our new western theme kamp along with a host of other kamp legends like Joey and Jeanie Staples, Brad and Debbie Friess, not to mention Eric Peterson, Randy Weaks, and Spook LeGrand. We definitely opened with a bang, and have never looked back.

After a couple decades of faithfully serving ACU as a tennis coach, followed up in the Athletic Director position, Cecil and his sweet wife Judi are now making dreams come true in Gruene, Texas where they host folks from all over the U.S. at the Gruene Mansion Inn.

Located right next to the "oldest dance floor in Texas" you can relax, do some two-stepping, get some great meals, and even float the Guadalupe river if you want (and get a room over looking the river). Everyone needs to visit this place at least once (check out the Gruene Mansion Inn website...I promise you won't be disappointed).

Good food, good friends, and good old fashion traveling. Did I tell you that I love being on the Movie tour?

I've Been everywhere Man...

Southlake...
Austin...
San Antonio...
Plano...what a week!

I just spent some time in Texas on the Winter Movie Tour, and it sure was fun.
I traveled with Will and Cindy Cunningham, as well as Kay Holiday, and we were able to cover lot's of miles before we ended up back in Branson.

For me, showing the movies this year has been more fun than ever. Tim Oliphant (our video guru and reigning American Gladiator) has orchestrated the absolute best video I have ever seen kamp produce. It tells the story of our mission in a crystal clear way that makes me stand at the back of the room EVERY night and watch it over and over again. I never tire of seeing how Christ is lifted up and how He has changed so many lives over the years.

Families were great. The Chapman family hosted me in Austin. Their son Jake gave up his room for me and let me play with his 9 week old chocolate lab Lacy. Unfortunately, she dug into my backpack and started chewing my gum. I hope she can kick the habit before she gets too much older. She's a great looking dog.

Oh, by the way, let me tell you something you already know. Will Cunningham is just plain gifted. There is no other human being that I know that can do what he does. He is mega creative, mega talented, and mega kind. It's so fun to watch him sing, play, speak, entertain, and encourage.

I may just sign up for family kamp, and you should too. Spending a week with Will and Cindy could just change your life. I know it did mine.

Being on Movie Tour is awesome. Wish you could have been there.

Kentucky Bluegrass

Kentucky has been a fun week for us.

Being on the campus and home of the legendary Adolph Rupp was really fun for all of us.

The reps did a super job and had our show totally organized and impressed us with some great interviews. After a hard day of work, we capped things off with a little Cane's Chicken. The Wildcats are going to steal a big spot in our Staff Training week photo this year.







We moved onto Asbury College after being in Lexington to hang out with Jordan, Allison, and Amy (our campus reps). It's a quaint little college with some super star people that love the Lord. I enjoyed being there and seeing Kwest staffer Nick Smith. Nick transferred there this year and is playing some soccer and keeping busy with ROTC stuff.









The best part of the trip is when we turned the corner to come home. Dwayne Pano is my hero of the week. He strapped himself into the driver seat, popped an Amp energy drink, and drove all 9 hours while listening to some fun tunes. It was so good to exit off of 65 and get back to the Branson lights.




It was a good week of Movie Tour...The Lord was very faithful.

Movie Time In Kentucky

It's always fun to be on the Movie Tour. No matter what stop you make, it's a fun reunion time for everyone.



We are in Kentucky this week and it's been a blast. Lot's of fun families, kampers, and staff. We started our trek in Louisville. The Lyle's and the Shrout's rolled out the red carpet and made us feel like a million bucks. They did a wonderful job at making the show really fun (like guessing the amount of M&M's in a jar, ice cream stops, and traditional back yard basketball till after 11pm.

Klife Waco Style

I vote Allen Befort and Erin Groth the two best Klife leaders of all time. They are possibly not only the best team, but the most perfect fit to be dynamic leaders for kids who come to Klife.

I stopped by the other day for the Kamp Movie Tour and they hosted us at the Klife center. It was fun to see them in action with kids, families, and their staff. They have some good things going right now and it's fun to see the Lord working.

If you are ever near Waco, be sure to stop in and check out their ministry and work with kids (not to mention staff volunteers....I heard a rumor that they have 60 college students that want plug in and help, but again, that's just a rumor).

Baylor and Waco were good to us. We had ton's of interviews despite Pigskin happening. By the way, Andrew Gilbert performed last night on stage, singing and dancing. I can't wait to watch the YouTube video on that one

Aggies

Aggie time on the KMT.

Last night we were busting at the seams with Aggies who are ready to interview with kamp. It was fun to see a room filled with that much excitement and energy. Our reps did a wonderful job.

It was also fun to see guys like Dave Browning, or as AJ refers to him, Brave. Interestingly, Dave just finished spending time with a former President of the United States, as well as our current President, both in College Station, both at the same time. Dave and his fellow Aggies were being honored for their volunteer work in the city for those who need help. Pretty cool.

The only bad thing about the whole deal was that Dave had to cut his hair...and his beard. Both Luke Finch and Dave are sporting some serious facial hair. You kind of just wish they could have it during the summer.

It's always good to be in Aggie land. Gig Em.

Reunion Time

This weekend we had the chance to rally the staff in Dallas as we prepped for the Texas/OU game. It was an opportunity for the family to be together to catch up and have some fun.

Kwest was well represented, along with all of the rest of the kamps. We fellowshipped, ate some good food, told some great stories, but mostly had the chance just to catch up with each other.

The highlight of the weekend had to have been Todd Rapp's skit. He was in vintage form as he and Shay Robbins performed a sundry of different skits centered around writing next year's summer theme song (see pictures).

We hit the road this week and I will be heading to College Station and Waco, Texas. The KMT is off and running and we are excited to see some people.

On the Road...again

What a blast! The past three weeks have been incredible. Despite being completely disconnected from access to a working computer (the laptop was busted and hotels too busy) it has been a fabulous time visiting people. To be honest, after blogging about Priority and Priorities, my heart to stay electronically connected was overrun by my passion to hang out with people. I am excited that I made the decision, but step out today with new resolve to be more active on this blogging page. Not only that, I am asking Todd Rapp and even my wife, two of our fine directors from Kwest, to chip in with some comments every now and then. I visited OU, OSU, KU, KSU, William Jewell, Mid America Nazarene, Manhattan Christian College, Truman State, Central Missouri State (where gas was under $2 a gallon!) and even Mizzou (thanks for a wonderful time hooping Nate and Andy...you guys are both awesome and so is the rec center!).
I hope to catch up soon and want to be more diligent, so pardon the people interruption and welcome back!
Ward