A Message for the President

We sometimes deprive ourselves of incredibly extraordinary experiences because we don’t believe they could happen; at least not to us. We underestimate what life has in store for us and what God is capable of accomplishing. With this in mind, I share my family’s experience in Washington, D.C. last June.

I had been invited to a medical meeting in our nation’s capital and my wife Lisa and our two younger children, Sam (11) and Lydia (7) came along to visit the monuments and see the sites.

The venue for the meeting was the St. Regis Hotel, two blocks from the White House. I thought, “wouldn’t it be something if somehow we could tour the White House and meet the President.” But I knew that would be impossible.


On our first full day in D.C. we walked from our hotel toward the White House. As we approached Lafayette Square, a block from the White House, we were struck by a small but quaint St. John’s church where every U.S. president since Madison has worshipped. It has come to be known as “the Presidents’ Church.” I was sensing a strange inexplicable compulsion to go inside.

No one was inside except an “official-looking” lady on a cell phone. She pointed out where the current president sat when he would occasionally visit. It was where his father sat. The lady asked Lisa if we would be in town Sunday morning. Lisa said, “Yes.”

“Well,” the lady said, “I just got the call. The President and Mrs. Bush are going to be here for the 7:45 service and take Communion.”

We were determined to be there Sunday. Sam was particularly excited at the thought of having his first Communion with the President of the United States. He had only brought jeans and felt they were inappropriate for church and asked that we buy him khakis. We did.

We awoke Sunday to thunderstorms and heavy rain. My first thought was that we were going to get soaked walking to church. I also thought the President might cancel because of the rain, or something important came up preventing him from coming. As these thoughts entered my mind I read from Sam’s Bible and prayed. I first read Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the Lord’s hand and He directs it as a watercourse,” substituting “president” for “king.” As I was thinking about the President with all the challenges he faces, I felt a strong compulsion to read Psalm 21, which I rarely read. As I read, I experienced an overwhelming feeling I was to give it to President Bush when I saw him. The essence of this Psalm is the king’s (president’s) expression of trust and confidence in God to protect him and to deal with his enemies. He acknowledges God as the One who placed him in his present position of power. I did not share this with Lisa at the time but later, after the events of the day, she indicated she felt that morning I would be speaking to the President.

With borrowed umbrellas from the hotel, we proceeded to the church in the rain. The little church was literally “crawling” with secret service agents. We had to wait for bomb-sniffing dogs to finish their work before we went through security. Hardly anyone was there. We estimated 30 people; at least half were probably secret service

At 7:40, the President and Mrs. Bush came through the front door on the right. Proverbs 21:1 came over me in a surrealistic way. They walked across the front of the church, turned down the aisle on the left next to where we were seated and sat a row behind us across the aisle.

Early into the service, we were asked to stand and greet those around us. Lisa, Sam and I turned and greeted the President and Mrs. Bush with handshakes and exchanges of “Peace be with you.” At that moment, I did not think it appropriate to say anything else to the President.

Intermittently through the service, Sam would turn his head slightly to peek at the President. The President would note this, responding with a wink and a smile each time. The President took his church bulletin, signed it “Best Wishes”, and handed it to Sam. Mrs. Bush gave hers to the President informing him Sam had a sister. The President signed it and handed it to Sam saying, “Give this to your sister.”

We were invited forward to the alter to receive Communion. As our family proceeded down the aisle, a lady in a pew on the right appeared as if she wanted to be let in so Sam and I backed up to let her in. In so doing, unknowingly President and Mrs. Bush were placed in line behind us. Thus, when it came time to take Communion, we found ourselves kneeling with them to receive the wafer and wine. The order was Sam, I, Lisa, Mrs. Bush and the President.

Upon returning to our pew, I turned to seat myself and found the President right next to me. I said, “Mr. President this morning as I was praying for you, I felt moved to read Psalm 21. I would like to give it to you.” He thanked me and shook my hand.

When the service came to a close, the President and Mrs. Bush were escorted from their seats. He waved to us and said, “See you guys later.”

I said, “God bless you Mr. President.”

He replied, “Thank you sir.”

It all seemed like a dream except we had two signed church bulletins, which told us otherwise. We stepped out of the church into a deluge and arrived at our hotel soaked to the bone. We didn’t mind. We had just been showered with blessings from God.

I do not know if the President read Psalm 21. I do know a short time afterwards the President came under extreme criticism for his conduct of the war in Iraq and his popularity hit an all time low. I believe the Psalm would have been a great comfort to him.

Ronald Aung-Din
Sarasota, Fl.