August has come to a close! While our busiest time of year has passed, we have still had plenty of opportunities to keep connecting with groups that have stayed at the kids house. Join us as we share our Makanalani August Newsletter!
- Summer Reflections -
Summer 2025 was truly incredible! As the season winds down, we can’t help but reflect on the experiences gained and the lives that were changed! Summer is truly the highlight of the year where we can fully fulfill the mission of Makanalani in investing into the next generation! Kids of all ages from all ends of Kauai were able to have camps and retreats without the worry of financial burden, and experience investment from leaders in a loving environment! God is truly moving in Kauai’s next generation, and this summer was a strong testament to that!
- Trail Life Adventures -
This month we had the opportunity to welcome a batch of kids from mainland with Trail Life USA, a Christian scout troop from Louisiana came to experience Kauai! They spent the week adventuring, investing into the kids, and experiencing what Makanalani has to offer with our farm and animals! Such a fun experience we were honored to help make happen! We hope this will be an experience that these kids and families can treasure forever!
- Young Life Committee -
For a weekend of fellowship and planning, we welcomed in Young Life Hawaii leaders and board members for their annual committee meeting! A wonderful stay where these leaders got the chance to plan and build fellowship before starting the new school year of investing into new and old students alike!
- Hawaii Leadership Residency -
Bittersweet Goodbyes
“As summer came to a close for this seasons’ residents, we reflected all on what the Lord has done and taught us. We spent time creating out “Altar Moments” and thanking God for the ways he has stretched us and showed up as we went through the residency. As a group we tried to fit in all the things we could possible before we left the island. Last beach trips, hikes, coffee runs, all the things. For some of us, we had the California trip to look forward to as we left Kauai!
In California we got to stay at host homes provided by Anthem Church in Thousand Oaks! As a group we got to explore the area, go to LA, the beach, and more. Additionally, we got to participate in a service project in Ventura assisting the owners of a facility that helps families transitioning out of homelessness. It was an awesome week of not just being able to visit Anthem Church, but also Genesis Church in Costa Mesa which was such a teat. It was such an awesome final week!”
– Damaris Neel (Hawaii Leadership Residency Resident Spring-Summer 2025)
A Piece of Makanalani History
- The Barn -
The first permanent building that the bunkhouse crew tackled in 2006 was our Equipment Barn, from which all the subsequent construction effort would then flow. The Barn was designed to reflect the island’s Plantation style, and so it did not look at all like a traditional agricultural barn.
After clearing the giant Albizia trees and grading the building pad, a heavy concrete slab was thrown, with provision for electrical, plumbing and septic included in the slab.
The walls were reinforced concrete and very strong roof beams were bolted down onto those concrete walls. The design goal was for the building to survive a hurricane and to require very little ongoing maintenance.
We used off-grid solar to generate power for the finished barn, and backed that up with huge batteries for night-time use. The barn settled nicely into the beautiful north shore landscape of Kauai, and remains a central hub for our farm work to this day.
