Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 09:37:34 -0500
----- Original Message ----- The e-mail below was written by Lindsey
Yeskoo, the wife of Paul Yeskoo, a Christian Foreign Service Officer
serving in Shanghai, and details her experience of meeting the
President when he was in China a month or two ago. It underlines
why we need to be faithful in praying for the President in particular
and all our national leaders.
Dear Family!
It is a dull, polluted Monday morning here in Shanghai and we await
news of President Bush’s safe arrival back in Washington D.C. He
just left here less than twelve hours ago. Everyone is breathing a
sigh of relief that no terrorist incidents occurred here over the past
days. Security was tight, as you will have seen on TV. On Friday
afternoon,a crowd of 600 consulate/embassy staff + families were
invited to a reception in the Atrium of the Shanghai/Portman
complex, at 3:15pm, to meet both GW and Colin Powell. We waited
a LONG time (due to all the security we had to go through), but our
anticipation outweighed our tired bodies and sore feet. [We had left
the house just after 10:30am in order to do all this!].
Finally, Bush was announced, and it was SO INCREDIBLE to see
him walk in with Powell and take the podium before us, especially
with all the recent events. Quite emotional for us all, actually.
He gave a tremendous, candid yet heartening speech, and then
was escorted down to the floor to meet the crowds. Everyone was
of course behind a tight rope, and there were Secret Service men
and security everywhere. There was no way he could meet all, but
he sure did a great job of shaking hands with as many as possible.
Colin owell followed immediately behind him; he did not seem so
engaging, surprisingly.
Maybe the Secretary was (understandably) tired and distracted
after his previous trips to Pakistan and India. Anyway, the three
kids and I were in the very front row, and had an extraordinary
experience with President Bush. Bush came along and shook
Chris’s hand first, noticing that he was all dressed up, and
said, “You’re looking sharp today, boy!” Chris was SO PROUD and
SO PLEASED at the recognition (if only GW had known what a
struggle I’d had to get him to wear a jacket and a tie!). Then he
shook my hand and I told him how much we value his strong
leadership at this time, that we are 100% behind him. He went on
and took the girls’ hands and talked to them.
Then I leaned over and mentioned that we pray for him every day.
He stopped dead in his tracks (a definite security NO-NO… > the SS
men got REALLY antsy). He searched my eyes as if to see how
much I really meant what I was saying. Then he gave me the most
amazing and unexpected personal response, Paul said for a good
20-30 seconds.
He told me what the effect has been on him, waking up every day of
the crisis and knowing within himself that he is being faithfully
prayed for. He almost pleaded with me not to give up, but to persist
with it, for this is only the beginning. Then he looked me even more
squarely in my eyes, and gave me a very personal and specific
series of instructions about the very things he most needs prayer
for, on behalf of himself and of the nation.
He urged me that the threat against America is very great, and that
one of our focuses in prayer to God needs to be “the shielding of
America”… and wisdom for him as he leads the country through this
time. I don’t know why, but as I looked straight back at him directly
into his face, he let me see for those brief moments a tiny part of
the agony he himself is going through, and the weariness. He
finished the conversation by putting his hand on my right shoulder,
almost as if it were the close of a commissioning, but affectionate
too in a brotherly sort of way. People were pressing in at this point
and almost knocking the four of us right into Bush. Many of them
were the Chinese staff who work for Paul, who would not have
understood ANY of that conversation; but others caught snippets
and came afterwards to ask me WHAT we had been talking about.
The President moved on.
Needless to say, the whole experience was unforgettable. I cannot
begin to tell you how deeply it has affected me. Certainly, I do not
think I have ever prayed for a leader or government or nation (or
world!) so extensively as I have done since then. It was really quite
an unusual and unexpected and powerful encounter."
What a blessing to have a professing Christian as President. Please
take a moment after you read this to pray for him. He truly does
have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Pray that God will
sustain him and give him wisdom and discernment in his decisions.
Pray for his protection and that of his family. After you have
prayed, send this to everyone on your e-mail list. Our President
needs Christians around the world to be praying for him.
As this makes the e-mail rounds, eventually there could literally be
people praying for him 24/7 . This was good, very good.
“Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God”
Famous last words: “Ah Bears are too big and fat to run fast”