Bryan Schlackman
Bryan Schlackman is the second walker of The Earth Expedition, painstakingly pounding out over 1,000 miles of USA desert roads and another 1,500 miles of scenic Europe; spanning Scotland, Ireland, England, France and Spain. However, not only did Bryan successfully walk the second leg of the expedition, but he did so at great cost, selling his truck, surrendering his paycheck week to week for the purpose of saving for his expedition, and also visiting numerous churches to guest speak on the water crisis to raise the remaining support for his mission.
A ton of prayer and diligence went into the decision to walk Europe, especially after spending the last 4 months prior walking the equivalent of a marathon through America's tornado alley, which may sound fun and exciting but get's pretty monotonous after a while. And every new day spent abroad brought challenges of it's own, such as ever-changing currency rates, relying on strangers for shelter and meals, overcoming language and culture barriers, and of course, missing family and friends.
Bryan overcame all of these difficulties and more, much thanks to encouraging friends and family, the wonderful hospitality of the people of Western Europe, and two very loyal friends, Stacey and Brett, who chose to accompany Bryan on foot majority of the way. Bryan has a very deep compassion for families sufferring from water-related illnesses, and he never missed an opportunity to share the story of the hardships in Africa with anyone who would lend an ear. In fact, although his journey through the Expedition came to a successful end in August of 2009, Bryan continues to visit churches, schools, and businesses to share the stories of his adventures and most importantly, the premise behind them, that all should have the most basic of needs such as clean, safe drinking water. Wherever Bryan goes, people are being inspired to leave their mark on the water crisis.
Bryan goes down in ActiveWater's history as our very first participant and we will never be able to sing praise enough for all that he has added to this mission. His compassionate heart, his courageous spirit, and his constant willingness to put the needs of others before his own is a beautiful example of everything ActiveWater exists to be. We are very pleased to share that Bryan's faith has continued to lead him down such a path of servitude, for he just took a position as a firefighter for his community in Texas. Way to go Bryan, always the hero!
If you would like to make a donation in honor of Bryan's sacrifice with The Earth Expedition, simply click on his name above to make a secure donation to Active:Water through his personal fundraising page.
