This is a pretty amazing photo when you think about it. President and Mrs. Bush are joined by former Presidents Bush and Clinton as well as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card as they all pay their respects to Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. No sitting American president has ever been to a papal funeral until now. Photo courtesy of the White House.

1. This is a really interesting week with the whole world paying attention to everything that has happened in Rome. Pope John Paul II has died and today is his funeral service. Before the service, millions—that's right—millions of people came to pay respects to him as he lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope's death is important, not just because he was the leader of the Catholic Church and its 1 billion members, but because he was a gigantic world leader whose influence was vast and far-reaching. So this is a great time to pray!Pray for all the people who are sad because they loved John Paul II and will miss him, and pray for the College of Cardinals as they get ready to decide who the new pope will be, praying that each and every one of them—there are 117 cardinal who will vote—will listen very carefully to what the Lord wants and will do His will. Pray also that people who do not believe in God will examine their beliefs and be brought to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
2. Way to go, PPT Kids! Just last week we felt, with the President, a deep concern over the troubles of the new interim government in Iraq. So we asked you to pray. God really answered our prayers in a meaningful way, as Iraq's Transitional National Assembly took a big step toward becoming a democracy just days ago! By a big majority they voted to elect Iraq's next President, Jalal Talabani, and its next Deputy Presidents, Adil Abd al-Mahdi and Ghazi Ajil al-Yawer. Those names may not be too familiar to you, but remember to thank God for answering our prayers and helping the transitional government take the next step toward freedom and democracy. Ask God to help these leaders as they are sworn in and start leading the new government. They will soon pick a Prime Minister who will work during the coming days to select a Council of Ministers. And then, an amazing thing will happen--the new Iraqi government will start writing a new constitution! They'll also keep on training Iraqi soldiers and security forces and they will take over the delivering of basic services like education and water and power supply and all the things needed to run a country well. As they do this, they will be continually working to bring about Iraq's transformation from dictatorship to democracy—an amazing transformation! So this is a terrific time to keep on praying for the new leaders of Iraq, and to ask God to cause every one of them to be unselfish as they lead.
3. The members of Congress are back in session now, so pray for them as they tackle the big issues they have facing them in the coming weeks and months, including changes to Social Security, the approval of federal judges who have been appointed but not allowed to start work and the energy bill that the President is hoping they will take care of.
4. Be sure to keep on praying for the brave men and women of our military that they will do their jobs well, honoring America and each other as they work to keep America safe. Pray for each one to have God's powerful protection and care as they serve.

Secretary of Health and Human Services— Michael Leavitt

Photo courtesy of the White House.

Mike Leavitt is no stranger to the Cabinet Room at the White House, because he has been the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency since August of 2003! So he knows his way around the White House, but in his new position with Health and Human Services he is taking on a great deal more responsibility. He has plenty of positive experience to draw on, for Mike Leavitt has not only served with the EPA, he was also the Governor of Utah for 11 years. When he was governor, he worked hard to reform welfare, manage natural resources and strengthen environmental stewardship. Mr. Leavitt also worked hard to make government services easily available on the Internet and he set high standards for his administration, insisting that leaders must be able to account for their actions to those whom they lead.

The Department of Health and Human Services is really huge! And its services reach across our whole country. HHS provides more than 300 programs and it pays out over one-fourth of the money that the government provides for services. Maybe you have heard about Medicare and Medicaid, the health insurance programs our government has created for American senior citizens. Yep, HHS is in charge of those. It also works to fight disease and keep our food and medicines safe; it helps low-income families with their needs; it works to improve the health of moms and babies in our country, and it tries to help everyone stay off of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. They also help people in our country to be ready in case of all kinds emergencies, including terror attacks.

The HHS team includes more than 67,000 employees and has a budget of more than $581 billion! Secretary Leavitt is married to Jackie together they have five children. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and business from Southern Utah State University.

Prayer Points for Mike Leavitt and HHS:

• Help in the battle against HIV/AIDS.
• To do a good job coordinating emergency preparedness efforts with Department of Homeland Security.
• To know and do God's will as they envision how best to serve America in the future.

Secretary of Energy— Samuel Bodman

Photo courtesy of the White House.

Samuel Bodman is our country's new Secretary of Energy. He is stepping in to lead now that Spencer Abraham has done such a terrific job for the last four years.

Mr. Bodman has a strong background management and engineering, so he is really qualified for the job. He started out as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a professor!

In his position as Secretary of Energy, Mr. Bodman leads a team that makes sure our nation's energy supply and resources are safe and secure. His department is also involved in making sure that our environment is protected, both in getting and using energy resources. They work to develop new sources of energy for the future and to ensure that all Americans have safe, reliable and affordable supplies of energy for all their needs.

Secretary Bodman is from Massachusetts, but he has held positions in both the Departments of Commerce and Treasury. With his wife Diane he has three children and eight grandchildren. That's a lot of birthdays to keep track of!

Prayer Points for Secretary Bodman and the DOE:

• To work wisely to develop new forms of energy and to increase the energy supply for America.
• To keep on working to make all our energy clean and safe so our environment can stay clean.
• To do a good job keeping the nuclear energy of our country safe and clean.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Remember, O Lord, your unfailing love and compassion, which you have shown from long ages past.
—Psalm 25: 1, 6

For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, "Our God protects all those who worship Him, but His fierce anger rages against those who abandon Him." So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and He heard our prayer.
—Ezra 8:22-23

Eleven-year-old David Smith, son of Paul Ray Smith holds the Medal of Honor that President Bush awarded to Sgt. Smith posthumously in a White House ceremony last Monday. David is seen with his step-sister Jessica and his mother, Birgit Smith. Photo courtesy of the White House.

Though it may seem like the only thing that’s been going on this week has been the big story from Rome, something really neat happened to an 11-year old boy and his mom and step-sister. They went to the Washington, D.C. for several special ceremonies, including one in the White House. David Smith received the Medal of Honor for his dad, Paul Ray Smith, who, two years ago, died in battle in Iraq. President Bush honored the exceptional and heroism and sacrifice of David’s dad in an East Room ceremony on Monday, April 4. Very, very few people get this award because it is given for extraordinary bravery in battle. David’s dad is the first person to receive the medal for bravery in the Iraq conflict.

David’s dad was a pretty great guy, and a fantastic example of a leader who put others first. He was always working to do things to help others. He showed his love for the soldiers in his command in ways both large and small—like a visit to someone in the hospital or gathering food and gifts during the holiday season for a family in need, Paul Ray Smith gave selflessly to those around him.

Photo of Sgt. Paul Ray Smith in full combat fatigues. Image courtesy of the Department of Defense.

President Bush honored Smith posthumously, citing his extraordinary career of military service. Here is part of his tribute to the fallen hero:

With complete disregard for his own life and under constant enemy fire, Sergeant Smith rallied his men and led a counterattack. Seeing that his wounded men were in danger of being overrun, and that enemy fire from the watchtower had pinned them down, Sergeant Smith manned a 50-caliber machine gun atop a damaged armor vehicle. From a completely exposed position, he killed as many as 50 enemy soldiers as he protected his men.

President Bush and Pope John Paul II met three times during President Bush's first term of office. The Pope is a very respected world leader. Photo courtesy of the White House.

We'll take a little time to learn about the Pope this week, because the whole world has its attention turned toward the life, leadership and ministry of this important man. Did you ever wonder what goes into making a little boy grow up to be among the most influential people in the world? Let's take a look.

Karol Wojtyla was born May 18, 1920. He is seen here with his mother and father. Photo courtesy of CNN.

Even though World War I was over in Western Europe, the year 1920 saw Eastern Europe still torn with many border and territorial disputes that kept the region in turmoil. In the small town of Wadowice, Poland on May 18, a little boy was born to a father, named Karol, who was an army officer and a mother, named Emilia, who was a teacher. They were a devout Catholic family and their name was Wojtyla (Say: voy TIH wah). They named their baby Karol Jozef, and watched him grow strong. Little Karol loved the outdoors and was an active, athletic boy. His nickname was "Lolek," and he was fortunate to have friends of different faiths, including a good friend who was Jewish. He did well in school and loved to ski, hike, paddle and swim in the local river.

Karol loved being outdoors, and the rugged terrain around his home was great for skiing, a passion he pursued well into his adulthood. Photo courtesy of onlipix.com.

While he was still quite young, Karol's life was marked with sadness. His mother died just before he turned nine and his brother died when Lolek was 12. That left son and father to make it together. They lived in a very modest one-room apartment behind their church and when they kicked the "soccer ball" around, it was made of bundled rags.

Young Karol's life was marked by sadness and hardship. Yet it's obvious that these difficulties made him stronger, not weaker—a great principle you can find in many places in Scripture. Can you think of one?
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Karol the father hoped his son would become a priest. He loved to tell him stories of ancient history and of their beloved homeland, Poland. Karol made his son study in a very cold room to toughen him up for the challenges he would face in life. Some said that the father wanted the son to be as tough as the soldiers he trained for battle.

This photo shows young Karol during his career as an actor. Image courtesy of PBS.

As Karol grew into a teen, he became thoughtful and insightful, writing poetry and studying theater. He was also very strong in his faith. In 1938, when he was ready for university studies, he moved with his father to Krakow where Karol studied literature and philosophy at Jagiellonian University. If you stop and think about the year 1938, you'll remember that things in Europe were heating up at that time. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1940, Karol, now age 20, avoided deportation by taking a rough job in a stone quarry. He continued to work at hard labor as the situation in Eastern Europe worsened. Sadly, his father died in 1941. Mr. Wojtyla always hoped his son would end up serving the church by entering the priesthood, but he didn't live to see it happen.

Karol's love of paddling continued into adulthood. This photo shows him as a young priest. Image courtesy of onlipix.com.

Just 18 months later, young Karol began studying for the priesthood at an underground seminary in Krakow. He also took theology courses at the university. He kept studying, acting and working to provide for himself, but when the Germans began rounding up all Polish men, Karol was able to hide out in the archbishop's home and avoid capture until the end of the war.