sometimes I forget the President lives here

Sometimes I forget that the President lives here.  I've been here for about 3 months now and I'm still in awe of all the monuments and history here, but it's moments like today that I will never forget.  The opportunities here are amazing! Today I volunteered at Saddleback's Civil Forum on Global Health.  Reverend Rick Warren (author of Purpose Driven Life) and his church, Saddleback, hosted the forum at the Newseum in DC.  There he presented President Bush with the first ever "International Medal of Peace" for his work in fighting HIV and AIDS through Pepfar and Malaria prevention.  380 people were invited to this event and it was invite only so it was pretty cool to be a part of it.  I was greeting people in my business suit (I knew that would come in handy some day) and Rick Warren thanked me and gave me a hug for helping out.  Rick had asked Mark if some NCCers could come and volunteer at the event...it was neat to be there and help them!

After I hugged Rick Warren I was on the look out for the President, but the secret service kept a close eye on him.  We were able to go inside and watch the forum though and I was about 10 rows away from the President.  It was so awesome to see him in a more natural setting. He was really funny and you could really see that he loves his wife (he called her 'baby' at one point).  President Bush also talked a lot about his perspective on helping others and he quoted the Bible a few times.  It was obvious that his Faith plays a huge role in his decisions. All in all, it was awesome! I'm pretty sure Bush smiled at me at one point and he may have even winked! I could be wrong, but all I'm saying is that we're pretty tight now! What a great opportunity! Oh yea, and it didn't hurt that the African Children's Choir performed and they are AWESOME and so PRECIOUS! It got me excited to go to Ethiopia! :)

I couldn't take any pictures because I wasn't technically allowed, but check out some shots that Joe Portnoy got...he's a great photographer!