CMCentral:  Also, I know you just returned from a recent trip to Africa. Can you briefly talk about your experience there?

Dan:  It was a different experience on a lot of levels. The first difference was that we showed up as Jars of Clay and performed some bigger concerts. It was unusual to us because we normally work in Africa under the radar. Being met by press in the airport and seeing banners up about the band around Nairobi and playing rock ’n’ roll music… It felt a little strange. But it was all for a good purpose. We were kicking off a campaign designed by college students in Nairobi called “Jijue 1 Million.”  “I Choose Life,” a student organization, hopes to get 1 million young people tested for HIV by December 1, 2010. We wanted to show our support and help kick off the campaign. We also see the need for this in the United States, as HIV is on the rise on college campuses here in the States. We also traveled out into the desert. It was the first time I had experienced a real desert and the kind of people that live and survive in such a place. One of the men that picked us up from the airstrip where we landed smiled at us and said, “There is always life in the desert.” He was right. We found the thumbprints of God all over that place.

CMCentral:  Is there anything else about your new record, upcoming plans or your work with Blood:Water Mission that you’d like to add?

Dan:  This is a record for anyone who has wrestled to know whether love is strong enough to prevail. It is a record for us all. I find that these songs more than any other record have spoken things I have not always had words to express. God gave me a window into my own world, and I hope it serves as that for others… Time to get our hands dirty.

For more info on Jars of Clay, visit jarsofclay.com.

To read our exclusive feature on Jars of Clay, check out CCM’s premiere Digital New Release Guide.

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**This interview first published on April 29, 2009.