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It’s spring, so it must be time for….Baseball!  Fantastic, fun new feature—PPK Treasure Hunt! Meet Billy Sunday, great ball player, great evangelist.

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1. President Bush and Vice President Cheney are key figures on the world stage, and both men travel to many parts of the world.  Earlier this week, Vice President Cheney was in Afghanistan at Bagram Air Base.  While he was there, a bomb was exploded near the main gate to the base.  It may have been an attempt to hurt or kill the Vice President, but we can thank and praise God that the attempt on Vice President Cheney’s life was unsuccessful.  Pray for God’s powerful protection on President Bush, Vice President Cheney and on all in dangerous situations due to service to America.  Pray that any plans being made to harm or attack America will be uncovered before they can be carried out. 
   
   
2. President Bush still needs our prayers as he leads our country’s effort to help Iraq, so pray for the President as he deals with the really tough realities of the war in Iraq, asking God to give him wisdom and help as he decides how best to handle things.  Pray for Secretary of Defense Gates, Secretary of State Rice, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Pace and all the members of the President’s team that they will seek God’s help and wisdom in every step they take. 
   
   
3. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be very busy in the month of March!  She is working to bring together several nations to strengthen relationships with the nations of Iran and Syria so they can help make the whole Middle East region strong.  She’ll also be visiting North Korea to improve our relationship with leaders there.  So pray for Secretary of State Rice as she travels to North Korea and Iraq, asking God to keep her safe and to guide her in every part of her work.  Pray that these meetings will be effective in bringing about God’s will for both North Korea and the Middle East. 
   
   
4. Members of Congress are still working on what to do about immigration reform.  It’s a difficult issue and many people have strong and differing views.  But God knows how He’d like it resolved, so pray for the members of Congress as they work on immigration reform, asking God to lead them to do His will in His timing.
   
   
5. Pray for all the members of our military, working in harm’s way to keep America and Americans free.  As they labor morning, noon and night, pray that they will have God’s strength and help in their work.  Pray that they won’t be afraid or lonely, and that those with children will know God’s protection over them. 

Photo courtesy of the Heritage Foundation.

Secretary of Labor—Elaine Chao
Did you know that our government has a whole big department made just to help the workers of America?  That’s right—it’s called the Department of Labor and its leader is a dynamite woman named Elaine Chao. 

Elaine and her family came to our country from their native China when she was just a little girl aged eight.  They worked very hard and had much kind help and support from others, and soon they were doing well.  The experience of receiving so much help and support from so many others made Elaine feel like she wanted to give something back to her country, so she dedicated her life to helping others succeed and find success, especially with their jobs. 

Elaine Chao has done some pretty amazing things in her life—like being the Director of the Peace Corps, and being the President/CEO of the United Way.  She has also worked in other parts of our government, like the Department of Transportation. 

With her team at the Labor Department, Secretary Chao works hard to help all of America’s workers.  She wants to be sure they are doing the very best job they can, getting paid fairly, being safe and growing in numbers.  She helps provide workers with information on how to get jobs and develop careers, health and retirement benefits and assistance for those who are without jobs.  Her department also makes sure that no one is being treated unfairly in the workplace because of their race or gender.  That’s a lot to work on, so you can bet Secretary Chao and the other people at the Department of Labor really appreciate your prayers. 

Secretary Chao prepared for her career by getting a college degree from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and a MBA from Harvard University.  Through the years she has given of her time and talent to lots of organizations and has received many awards for her service. 

With her husband, Mitch McConnell, a Senator from Kentucky, Secretary Chao has three daughters.

Photo courtesy of the State Department.

United States Trade Representative—Susan C. Schwab
Ambassador Susan Schwab oversees the important area of trade for our nation.

What do you think of when you think of trade?  Maybe it’s baseball cards or some other cool collectible, but today, we want you to think about our country’s relationship with other nations and how we exchange goods.  That whole area—of buying and selling goods between two nations—is called “trade.”  It goes far back in history—people have always traded.  Lewis and Clark brought tons of items they thought would be admired by the Indians they planned to encounter because they wanted to trade with them, both then and in the future. 

Today, our country does trillions of dollars in trade with the nations of the world.  And we are always hoping to do more, because every time a new market opens for Americans to trade, that brings millions or billions of new customers who can buy American goods.  So trade is a really important part of our government. 

Knowing that, it makes sense, doesn’t it, that we would have one whole Ambassador and a team of many people to represent the United States in trade negotiations with other countries. 

Ambassador Susan Schwab was confirmed by the Senate on June 8, 2006.  She is a member of the President's cabinet and is his principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues.

Ambassador Schwab came to the position with a rich background of public service, having served as Deputy USTR, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and President and CEO of the University System of Maryland (USM) Foundation.  She has also served with Motorola, Inc. as Director of Corporate Business Development. 

He has her bachelor’s degree from Williams College, a Masters in Development Policy from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and International Business from The George Washington University.

In addition to the time she has spent working overseas, Ambassador Schwab is the product of a Foreign Service family and grew up in Africa, Europe and Asia.  She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him.
--I Chronicles 5:20

Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.  And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!
--Acts 10:4

If you are a baseball fan, you know that it's spring training time! If you don't care that much about baseball, stay with us anyway, because we have lots of great things to learn from baseball and the great tradition of spring training! We'll also get to know two special baseball players from history.

What would you think about hearing from a preacher who was once a record-setting baseball player? That's Billy Sunday! He's a great American to get to know, because he used his fame and influence for lots of really good things. He not only spoke before millions of people, hundreds of thousands of them decided to begin a friendship with God through Jesus Christ. He also influenced the culture of his day, bringing change and revolution to many communities from small towns in the Midwest to the biggest cities in America!

Billy Sunday was a very famous evangelist who lived at the end of the 1800's. Billy was known for his very enthusiastic style of preaching that captured peoples' attention and kept it. He spoke to thousands at a time before the days of microphones or public address systems. He was especially concerned about alcohol and often preached against it—in part because he had seen the very bad things that happened in the lives of people who were addicted to alcohol.

Billy Sunday was born in Iowa in 1862. His father died while fighting for the Union in the Civil War when Billy was only one year old. This caused quite a hardship on his mother, so Billy lived in an orphanage until he set out on his own at age 15. A very fast runner, Billy dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. He was eventually discovered and played for the Chicago White Stockings starting in 1883.

This photo shows the Chicago White Stockings of 1886. Just 12 players! Teams have many more players than that today! Do you know how many? Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Billy also played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Pittsburg Alleghenys, but he had developed ties to Chicago. He was the first player to run the bases in 14 seconds and broke records for stealing bases.

The Pacific Garden Mission south of Chicago's Loop as it looks today. Photo courtesy of the Pacific Garden Mission.

The world of professional sports was very different in those days, but some things were the same then as they are today. Young men made more money than every day workers, and they faced all kinds of temptations when they traveled to games. One evening in 1886, Billy and some friends were drinking in a part of Chicago with a lot of taverns and bars. A local mission had posted their "Gospel Wagon" at the corner of State Street and Van Buren and members of the mission were singing and sharing the Good News of God's love for all people. Billy and his friends stopped to listen to the music and Billy later accepted the invitation to go back to the mission with the volunteers.

Here Billy is seen with Jack Pickett. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

It was there he heard powerful preaching about Jesus. Billy felt convicted of his sin and realized that he was spending too much time with alcohol and other pursuits that were neither good nor pleasing to God. He soon decided to give his life to Christ. Things changed for Billy Sunday, and he never looked back.

Billy was eager to learn the Bible, and he soaked up all he could. Soon he was telling others how Jesus had saved him and helping them to find new life and grow in their faith. Meanwhile, Billy was trying to keep his baseball career going. In fact, a few different teams were luring him with offers of large salaries. But Billy didn't care about making $400 a week. He wanted to be involved in growing God's Kingdom! He soon took a job for $83 a week at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Chicago.

Billy also met and married his wife, Helen, who quickly became known as "Ma." Billy and Ma were a great team, and she helped with his work in many ways.

It wasn't long before Billy was preaching to crowds of his own in big cities across the country. His flamboyant personality and athleticism led to a preaching style that was loved and criticized alike. Billy was known for moving around and striking dramatic poses as he preached. Here are some photos that show his crazy style:

All photos courtesy of billysunday.org.

Billy also took what he'd learned from his life before Christ and applied it to his evangelistic efforts. He realized that people would be more likely to come to his meetings if he had something unique to offer them. So Billy added music and promotional efforts like advertising in local newspapers, keying off his background as a famous baseball player. He built a team that helped him as he traveled to each city, including Ma and trombonist Homer Rodeheaver. Some prayed, some led music, many did follow-up on those who made commitments to Christ, referring them to churches where they could grow in their faith. Billy also made sure that he worked with the local pastors and interested businesses wherever he preached.

Billy Sunday wanted to help everyone know about God's love for them, and he was willing to do just about anything to get the Good News out. His approach was a lot like the Apostle Paul's. Can you think of a place in the Bible where Paul explains this?
Hover here to read.