Water is scarce. For millions of people in Africa, clean water simply isn’t available to them. It may be below shallow ground cover, but they lack the technology to access it. Or it may be fresh spring fed water, but it’s owned by major corporations that bottle the water for a profit in other countries. The truth is: water is a luxury item most people simply cannot afford.
The average American individual uses 100-176 gallons of water per day, while the average African family uses about 5 gallons per day. (World resources Institute)
Our team made a commitment this summer to do something about the water crisis-not just talk about the water crisis. We started practically by changing the way we drink water at MOVE. We believe making better water choices here will help us make better water choices on a global scale. No one working with MOVE this summer, from the bands to the event staff, will drink bottled water. We believe that buying water bottles that you throw away are just as bad for you as they are for the environment. The truth is that sanitation regulations are stricter in tap water than in Aquafina. That means the water you buy at the convenience store for $2 could be dirtier than the stuff that comes out of your kitchen sink.
The switch is good for us and for the environment. Over the course of the summer, MOVE reduced waste by 3,500 empty plastic bottles. That’s a big step in solving this crisis. We’d like to invite you to join us in refusing to buy bottled water. It won’t change the world, but it’s a start.
The MOVE Team

Two MOVE events have already happened (IN and TN1), four MOVE events are going on as I write this (CO/NV/MI1/TN2), and there are 15 more MOVE events to go.

I sit in my chair back at the MOVE headquarters (also known as Christ In Youth Inc.) and I think about how it takes an entire year to plan just a few months of the MOVE tour.  There is always a feeling of…”Is this going to work?” right before we leave.  From registration policies, all the way to lighting rigs and projectors, there is always some dust to brush off and things to get ready to go for the summer.  Yet God always, let me say that again for impact, He always comes through despite how much or how little we have prepared.

This summer is already off to an awesome start. We have been blessed with a very capable summer staff.  We have been blessed by youth ministers having patience with us during crazy registration days.  We have been blessed to partner with Active:Water, an organization that is trying to tackle the world’s water crisis.  We are simply blessed.  God continues to move behind the scenes, He continues to  grant us grace.  That’s what is awesome about our God:  that His love is unconditional, it knows no bounds.  We can read about this and be encouraged in 1 Timothy.  Paul experienced this firsthand in the early part of his life.  His story reminds us that no matter how far off base we’ve gotten with God, His love is sufficient.  No matter how big of a sinner you think you are, God’s grace can reach the worst.  No matter how well you plan a MOVE event, people will see God is way bigger and way better than any week at MOVE.

Dust is always going to accumulate.  We just need to remember that Christ can wash us clean.  He can shake the dust off, he can make us new.

This past summer at MOVE, all attendees was given a “Kingdom Worker” challenge. It was presented in a sealed envelope and there were approx 50-75 different challenges that the students could get. Two of the challenges read, “1000 4 H20: Raise $1000 (at a job, doing chores, selling your stuff) and donate it to Blood Water Mission.“ and “26.2: Commit to being healthier. Train and run a marathon before next summer. Get started at www.activewater.org.”

Since then we have seen and heard of some incredible stories of students who have taken the cards and “ran” with them. There was a student who rode his bike across Indiana to raise money and awareness. Below you will see an awesome story about a student named Ian from Kansas who took the task to another level…by adding a couple of zeros to the end.

At Christ in Youth, we have decided to take it a step further and all programs will address the water crisis in the world next year. Next year, with MOVE specifically, we will try to raise enough offering next summer to build 5 wells in Zambia, Africa. Tomorrow, our MOVE programming staff will be in Nashville meeting with Blood:Water and Active:Water about a partnership for next summer. We are looking at possibly creating a film similar to “BAHT” but raising awareness for the water crisis.

I would ask that you would pray for the meeting tomorrow, that the Lord will lead us in the correct direction about this partnership. Also, pray for Ian that the Lord would continue to give him strength and perseverance over the next year.

Here is Ian’s story (email from Ian to Daren of Active:Water):

Hey Daren,

It’s nice to hear from you. I actually heard your story at a CIY MOVE conference. On the last night CIY handed out envelopes to each student. Inside the envelopes were cards describing a different task for the individual to do. But we were only to open them if we were serious about doing it. Now, I’m not going to lie, when I opened mine, my first thought was, “Wow. How am I supposed to run a marathon?” But the more I thought about it, it fits. Now, I’m not much of a runner, but one of my teammates had been training already for a marathon and the other is pretty athletic (and I’m not so bad myself). The more we began to think and dream of what God can do and what God wants to do through us, we’ve decided to raise $100,000 between the three of us. Along with raising $100,000, we also look to travel to Africa to give the people not only physical water, but the everlasting water of Jesus Christ. The race we are now looking at racing in is the Lynn Electric Kansas Marathon in Lawrence, Kansas (they have added a marathon for the April 2010 race).

That’s our story (as it’s developing). Here’s a little bit about me:

I’m 17 years old (18 in a few days) and I’m a Senior in High School in Wichita, Kansas. I had known that there was a water crisis, but never really grasped the depth of it until viewing your site. I’m heavily involved in church and I love being there. The church has become my second home. In fact, I work there everyday at a daycare. After my senior year, I plan on going up to Ozark Christian College to become a pastor. I’m really passionate about people and showing Christ to the world (although I fail at it everyday), so my desire to “deliver” the water myself is pretty strong. If there’s anyway you could help us do that, please do. We would love to run with you.

Thank you for your help.

Ian