What a great year 2025 has been at Kanakuk. Year 100 was epic, beginning with the Alumni Reunion and continuing throughout the summer. We had 2,320 overnight Kampers this summer who have alumni parents! I love that! I love that Kanakuk is a gift we are passing along to the next generation.
I am deeply grateful for the profound impact Kanakuk has had on my life and the lives of my children. As we sit here at the end of December, it is fun to look back and reflect on the year, and this year to reflect on the past 100 years. Thinking back to those first boys who showed up at the White River, where they would spend their entire summer canoeing, swimming, shooting archery, running, and doing pull-ups, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Then I look back on my own time at K-1 and how fondly I carry those precious summers with me: K work, trips, and the beginning of true lifelong friendships.
The end of the year also fills me with excitement to look forward to the new year with hope! I am looking forward to summer with great anticipation and all the lives that will be touched and changed by Kamp this summer—the lives of your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids!
And with that hopeful anticipation, I am reminded that hope is a gift from God because we are promised a future of abundance with Him. Our hope does not lead to disappointment because God is faithful.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” As we continue to sit in this holiday season surrounded by phrases like “joy to the world” and “peace on earth,” may we remember that it is the God of hope who fills us with joy and peace to the point of overflowing. The future is bright when we trust in Him.
