© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Meet the Man Who Drove 1,600 Miles to 'Man in the Moon' -- and Documented the Whole Thing for You to See
Photo Credit: Instagram

Meet the Man Who Drove 1,600 Miles to 'Man in the Moon' -- and Documented the Whole Thing for You to See

"I had no idea what I was doing, why I was there, what was going to happen, but God told me to be there and so, I obeyed."

You may not know who 23-year-old Jared Wittenbach is. But you're about to. And we bet you'll love his story.

Wittenbach, a pharmacy technician from Camden, Mich., drove nearly 1,600 miles by himself, to Glenn Beck's "Man in the Moon" event in Salt Lake City. And he documented the entire thing in pictures. Adding to the intrigue: he has narcolepsy, so traveling alone was a challenge.

Jared Wittenbach (Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram)

TheBlaze caught up with Wittenbach, who has been using Instagram and Twitter to capture the trip, to learn more about his motivation for attending, what he's learned so far and how the experience has personally impacted him.

This photo was posted on Instagram weeks before Jared left with the caption: "There are no words to express the excitement. #maninthemoon" (Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram)

"Honestly, when the whole 'Man in the Moon' was announced back in February ... it was just this voice in the back of my head," Wittenbach said of his motivation for attending. "It was seriously like the spirit prompting me, 'You need to be there. You don't need to know why right now, but you need to be there.'"

He immediately purchased tickets, despite not knowing why God, in his view, was leading him to attend. Either way, he was extremely excited for what was to come.

Something Jared found in his hotel lobby when he arrived. (Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram)

Flash forward to this week: Wittenbach embarked on his long journey. It took him two days on the road to make it to the event. And considering his narcolepsy, he had an added challenge in keeping himself awake for the long drive.

And here's the first pit stop photo on his trip to Salt Lake City. The caption reads, "First pitstop. #manontheroad for #maninthemoon." (Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram)

Naturally, we asked him how he was able to stay alert.

"Music and, actually, a lot of people ask me how I would keep myself entertained because no one else was going with me," Wittenbach said. He then quipped, "My only response that I can come up with is, 'I'm pretty much the most entertaining person I know.'"

Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram

In all seriousness, the Beck fan, who has been listening to the radio host for the past nine years, said that he simply took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery along the way -- and taking pictures of some of the more intriguing elements surely helped.

Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram

Throughout our interview, Wittenbach's faith was apparent. He described coming from a very conservative Christian upbringing. Raised with seven other siblings, he credited his parents for bringing him up "pretty well" and noted that he was home schooled and, thus, able to escape some of the indoctrination that many believe is inherent in the public school system.

Wittenbach has found that being around like-minded Americans at "Man in the Moon" is a refreshing experience.

Here's a photo he took in Wyoming. (Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram)

While he believes that God directly led him to the event, he's unsure what, exactly, will come from the experience. But he believes he's already seen God working through him.

On Thursday night, despite his sleep disorder, Wittenbach -- who said that he never wakes up in the middle of the night -- awoke to hear rain and a storm outside -- and he felt God compelling him to pray.

After all, he had heard that the main "Man in the Moon" event was encountering some roadblocks due to bad weather.

"I woke up in the middle of the night ... and I remember thinking, 'Oh that's not going to be good for the show," he said. "I kept hearing in the back of my head, 'You need to pray, but you can't do it here.'"

Here's another image from his 1,600-mile journey, posted with the caption, "Check out the picture God is giving me." (Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram)

So, at 4 a.m., Wittenbach hopped in his car, drove to the SANA Amphitheatre, where the event will be held, and spent a half-hour praying outside of the venue.

"I had no idea what I was doing, why I was there, what was going to happen, but God told me to be there and so, I obeyed," he told TheBlaze.

Photo Credit: JaredPhilip/Instagram

Wittenbach is likely one of the many individuals who felt led to attend Man on the Moon. His story and the accompanying pictures are certainly intriguing (see the rest of the images on his Instagram account).

--

[related]

Want to leave a tip?

We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?