• Don’t miss PPK Treasure Hunt—fun new feature for more learning!
• Meet St. Patrick—godly missionary.
• Learn the history of St. Patrick’s Day, and which city is so Irish they turn the river green!

This fortunate young man posed with President Bush during the American Legion convention in Washington, D.C. this week.  Pray for President Bush as he continues to meet and encourage people all over America and the world.  Photo courtesy of the White House.

1. President and Mrs. Bush are on a big trip!  They are in Latin America, meeting with heads of state, American embassy workers and other citizens.  They will also see many of the incredible sights in the nations of Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico during this trip, March 8-12.  Pray for safety and protection for President and Mrs. Bush as they travel, for positive connections and good outcomes as President Bush meets with other heads of state and for their presence to be an encouragement to all they meet. 

Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been taking care of returning troops and veterans for 98 years.  Pray for all those working to improve conditions and treatment at Walter Reed and at all our military hospitals and facilities.  Photo courtesy of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

2. Have you heard about all the problems that have been discovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center?  It’s one of our nation’s finest military hospitals, and gives very good care to our troops returning from battle with injuries.  But some parts of the hospital have big problems, and the whole system that brings injured troops in from the field to receive care in the U.S. has problems too.  So President Bush has tapped some fine public servants, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and Senator Bob Dole, to lead the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors.  So it’s a fantastic time to pray for Secretary Shalala, Senator Dole and the nine members of their commission as they discern how to best serve injured troops as they return from battle. Ask God to help them do this job very well and to fix the problems so that we can take the best care possible of our wounded troops who have sacrificed for America.
   
   
3. Pray for everyone at Bluffton University in Bluffton, OH.  It’s a small Christian liberal arts school with a close-knit student body.  Last week, a bus carrying members of the school’s baseball team plunged over an overpass in Atlanta, GA, and six kids on the team were killed along with the bus driver and his wife.  The coach and several players are still recovering from injuries received in the accident.  The team was on their way to Florida for a baseball tournament. So it’s a really good time to pray for the friends and family of those who lost their lives, asking God to comfort and strengthen them during this sad time.  Pray, too, for the whole student body and university community, that they will be a powerful witness to Jesus Christ and His love as they mourn this incredible loss.  On Monday, March 12 the whole school will unite at a memorial service in honor of the baseball players.  Pray also for the students who still hospitalized in Atlanta and recovering from very serious injuries, asking God to touch them with His healing power. 
   
   
4. Pray for our troops as they keep on working to win the hearts and minds of people in Afghanistan and Iraq, placing themselves in dangerous situations to carry out their orders.  Give thanks to God for their dedication and pray for His complete protection over each one.

President Bush and Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.  Photo courtesy of the White House.

Secretary of Commerce—Carlos Gutierrez
The Secretary of Commerce oversees the important areas of business and manufacturing in our nation, helping small and large companies thrive. His department is very involved in strengthening trade with other nations and in helping all Americans, especially minorities, to start and grow their own small businesses. In his job, Secretary Gutierrez works to create a great climate for business to thrive while providing encouragment and help for those entrepreneurs who wish to start new businesses.

Mr. Gutierrez came to the office from a very successful career with Kellogg Company—that’s right, the folks who make cereal.  He has served as its CEO for several years.  Secretary Gutierrez emigrated from his homeland of Cuba in 1960 and joined the Kellogg Company after getting a job delivering cereal in Mexico City.  Ten years later, he was running the Mexican business. Fifteen years after that, he was appointed its CEO.  President Bush hailed Carolos Gutierrez as a fantastic American success story.  Our country is very fortunate to enjoy his gifts and talents in leadership.

Secretary Gutierrez has been married to his wife, Edi for 26 years, and together they have three children, Carlos, Erika and Karina. 

President Bush with Secretary of Treasury Henry “Hank” Paulson. Photo courtesy of the White House.

Secretary of the Treasury—Henry Paulson  
Henry M. Paulson, Jr. is our nation’s 74th Secretary of the Treasury.  In this position, he is President Bush’s main advisor on anything that has to do with America’s economy.  With his team at the Department of the Treasury, he is responsible for managing our country’s finances, collecting taxes and paying bills for our country, producing our postage stamps, paper money and coins, overseeing America’s banks, enforcing tax laws and much more.  That is a very big job!

Mr. Paulson has a great background for this position.  He has held several jobs with many responsibilities in business and finance.  He has worked with huge companies like Goldman Sachs and also in government positions at the White House Domestic Council and the Pentagon.

Henry Paulson is from the rolling, green Chicago suburb of Barrington, IL where he still has a farm.  He is a graduate of Dartmouth College (NH) where he had an extraordinary career in both academics and sports.  He also has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard.  He and his wife, Wendy, have two children, Amanda and Merritt.  Secretary Paulson is a devout Christian Scientist and especially enjoys bird watching and getting out to observe wildlife in his spare time. 

Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent.  Free me from my troubles.  Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
--Psalm 4:1

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
--Romans 8:26

As a kid who loves to pray for the President, it’s really great for you to get to know some of the fantastic people God has raised up to serve our nation in the office of president!  Today we get to look at some really special people—our nation’s Irish presidents.  Many of our nation’s presidents can trace their roots to an Irish heritage, including Presidents Polk, Buchanan, McKinley, Wilson, Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan and Clinton.  And in many cases, they were men of great faith who loved God and who wanted to honor Him as they served the nation.  Take a look at the leaders below and see what you think about these great Irish Americans.

Portrait of President Andrew Jackson courtesy of the National Museum of French-American Cooperation.

ANDREW JACKSON
The first Irish American president, though, was Andrew Jackson whose family hailed from County Antrim, Ireland.  When you read his words below, taken from President Jackson’s Second Inaugural Address, see what you think about his faith in God. 

Finally, it is my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being…that He will so overrule all my intentions and actions and inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from dangers of all kinds and continue forever a united happy people. 
--Andrew Jackson, March 4, 1833

Portrait courtesy of the National Gallery.

JAMES BUCHANAN
James Buchanan led our nation during the years leading up to the Civil War. He tried very hard to keep the nation from dividing, but by the time he left office, the South had already begun to secede. Read his words below and see what you think about his faith in God.

Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and has been implanted in the heart of man by his Creator for the wisest purpose; and no political union, however fraught with blessings and benefits in all other respects, can long continue, if the necessary consequence be to render the homes and firesides of nearly half the parties to it habitually and hopelessly insecure. Sooner or later the bonds of such a union must be severed. It is my conviction that this fatal period has not yet arrived; and my prayer to God is that He will preserve the Constitution and the Union throughout all generations.
-James Buchanan, December 3, 1860

Portrait of President Woodrow Wilson courtesy of the National Gallery.

WOODROW WILSON
President Woodrow Wilson led our nation in the years leading up to WWI.  He tried very hard to keep America out of the war, but as things continued to get worse, he eventually asked Congress a declaration of war shortly after he was re-elected in 1916. 

The son of a Presbyterian minister, President Wilson was well educated and outspoken about his Christian faith.  He was also the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean while president, the first to hold a presidential press conference and the first to be earn a PhD.  Read his words below and see what you think about his faith in God and love for the Bible. 

A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do.  We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about…The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God and spiritual nature and needs of men.  It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.

America was born a Christian nation.   America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.  I have a very simple thing to ask of you.  I ask every man and woman in this audience that from this day on they will realize that part of the destiny of America lies in their daily perusal of this great Book (the Bible).
--Woodrow Wilson

Portrait of Ronald Reagan courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

RONALD REAGAN
Ronald Reagan came from a small town in Illinois and spent the first part of his adult life in radio and sports, turning eventually to acting.  He appeared in 53 films before running for Governor of California in 1966.   When he ran for President in 1980 he won by a landslide, and was the first president to have been formerly divorced.  He led our country during a time of great peace and prosperity, and was very comfortable talking about his faith in God. 

President Reagan spoke these words of blessing from the Bible--Numbers 6:24-26 at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 6, 1986, which was also Mr. Reagan’s 75th birthday.  What a neat way to celebrate your birthday--by praying with leaders from all over the country!  Read his words and see what you think of his faith. 

If I had a prayer for you today, among those that have all been uttered, it is that one we're so familiar with: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.’  Thank you and God bless you all.
--Ronald Reagan, February 6, 1986

The Scriptures speak in many places about how God keeps us in His care and blesses with many good thing, just as President Reagan said. Can you think of some verses in the Bible that say this?
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