A Father's Eyes

Tonight, as a family, we went to Kanakuk LIVE! This is the winter tour staff members of Kanakuk make to touch base with kampers from the past summer and to give those kampers an opportunity to bring their family and friends to watch video and experience, just for an hour or so, what they experience for an entire week! I admit, I'm always excited about Kanakuk films coming to town. Even when I didn't have children, I would go, just to reconnect with old friends and to get that "feeling" again. Tonight was no different.

I was happy to get to speak with my friend, Todd Rapp, again and to finally meet Pete Newman. Seeing those guys in action tonight brought back everything I love about Kanakuk...which is everything! I even got to "work" with them. Well, they asked me to run the DVD player which had all of their video on it so, yeah...I was kind of a big deal tonight. I mean, people come to see the video highlights from Kamp so, without my right thumb and mad multi-media skills, the audio-visual element of the program would have been severly lacking. Don't get me wrong though, even if there were no video, Todd and Pete were MORE than entertaining on their own. They had help from a wonderful lady who was also on the Kanakuk staff but her name escapes me. I hate it when that happens.

Anyway, the highlight of the night for me was not the great skits Pete and Todd performed (although I'm very pleased that Sylvester made an appearance), it wasn't the cool video (sorry thumb!), and it wasn't the testimonies, the worship songs, or the great message Pete shared with all of us. It was sneaking a glance at Andrew and Amber and watching their reaction to all that was going on. Seeing them laugh at the skits, seeing them really listen during Pete's talk, seeing them clap after the songs were sung...seeing those things makes me know that what is happening at Kanakuk is really something good. It's something I need to continue to invest in. It's something I need to work hard towards so my kids can have the Kanakuk experience and grow up knowing where they stand as individuals with their faith, to know how to treat and react to others, to learn how to compete and be good sports, to learn how to win graciously and to lose respectfully, and to know that Mom & Dad must have really loved them to allow them to leave the house for one week each year (hard as that is) for something that will change their lives forever.

With that being said, check back soon for a video from Kanakuk LIVE! starring one of my favorite characters, Sylvester.

The Great Adventure

Sara and I saw the first photographic evidence that the boys are at Kanakuk safe and sound! How awesome!

As Andrew and I were leaving town under a thick fog that stayed with us until we were deep into Oklahoma, this is the first song I played for him. This song was brand new when I worked at Kanakuk K-2 back in 1992 and I adopted it as my song for the Kanakuk summer.

I can't embed this particular video for you so you'll just have to click through. Great song and so appropriate for anyone going to Kanakuk. Be sure to watch it in high quality. The scenery is fantastic.

Here is Steven Curtis Chapman and "The Great Adventure".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrrjbTc0urk

Kanakuk Bound!

Tonight is Andrew's last night with air conditioning, his own room, his own mattress, a computer, Guitar Hero, MLB on PS2, his Nintendo DS, his MP3 player, an ice-cold Pepsi, his dog Sonny, his sister and his parents...all the luxuries of his life...for an entire week!

He's trading all of that in for a thinly mattressed bunk-bed in a grafitti-walled cabin with about 9 other boys his age on the edge of Table Rock Lake, his life for the week packed inside a steel trunk, only knowing one other soul within 300 miles (his cousin is going with him), Sunday morning coffee cake, zip lines, a giant multi-colored blob, a couple of God-fearing college kids to watch over him, multiple evenings of exciting K-Life meetings, Mom & Dad's prayers for his safety, and more fun, new friends and fantastic memories than he'll ever be able to remember.

I'll miss him...terribly. But, I'm so excited for him. He's excited for himself! And that makes me happy.

It's late and we're hitting the road for Tulsa early. Good night.