In 1980, I was working at a little hamburger and ice cream cafe in Blue Eye, Missouri. I had just graduated high from school and I was thankful that I didn’t have to drive to Branson or further for employment—gasoline was $.87 a gallon!
During that summer, our manager at Dairy Land received a call from a camp called Kanakuk. They wanted to let us know that they would be stopping by later and would be ordering 27 banana splits. I had never heard of Kanakuk and in a small town like Blue Eye, 27 banana splits is a big deal—I think 27 banana splits at any small café is a big deal.
When the Kamp arrived, we began making the splits. Our little soft-serve ice cream maker froze up after making only ten and we had to wait out the freeze before we could start on the next batch. This was frustrating for us, as we wanted to serve all of them as soon as possible, but the Kamp staff were not concerned one bit about the wait. They were laughing and singing and they even prayed before diving into the frozen treats. Some of the staff offered to help us with the preparation and then again with the cleanup. It was utterly amazing to feel their love for each other and for us.
Fast forward seven years to the autumn of 1987, I was hired at that same Kamp for a Data Entry position. My job was to maintain the addresses and mail out movie invitations to 9,000 people inviting them to come see the Kamp movies. This was my first peek into Kanakuk and all of the sports and about their vision to share Jesus.
As the summer of 1988 arrived, I got to see Kanakuk in motion! I saw how the staff trained the kampers in their specialty of choice, encouraged the kampers during a high-element challenge just as eagerly as they encouraged them on their first time on water skis. I also saw them pray with their kampers and lead them through Bible studies and devotionals. Whether it was through sports or skits or teaching or worship, Jesus Christ was praised at this place. There was a full circle moment there as I thought back to their selflessness and joy at the Dairy Land all of those years ago and I got to be apart of it! Hearts were being changed as kampers came to know Jesus!
Kanakuk has continued to lead, teach and train both their Kampers and their staff how to pursue God and the love He so generously lavishes on us and it isn’t just something they do in the summer. Kanakuk and their staff and Kampers share the love for one another and exemplify Christ inside the gates and in the “real world,” in a high school or on a football field or a coffee shop or even a remote little burger joint like Dairy Land.
LaShell Stearns
Summer Staff Coordinator
