Secretary Clinton stopped in Beijing on her first overseas trip as Secretary of State. We were invited to attend church services and a women's roundtable with the Secretary so we brought Sophia along to the hotel for a photo-op and then utilized our staff and had the nanny and driver bring Sophia home as Josh and I joined the Secretary's staff and rode in the motorcade. It was the fastest rides we ever experienced in Beijing with the police escort and blocked roads! And what wonderful memories of Presidential motorcades it brought back.
Sophia was mesmerized with Elmo on the blackberry while we were waiting so when Secretary Clinton walked into the suite, Sophia was still asking for Elmo! Probably the one of the few times Hillary has been stood up by Elmo!
Josh and Sophia in the lobby of the hotel while we are waiting to go up to the suite.
After the photo-op, Josh dropped off Sophia and the nanny in the garage and Secretary Clinton arrived in the lobby sooner than we thought. I told her aide that they should not wait for Josh and we should go ahead and he could catch up, but Secretary Clinton insisted on waiting for Josh. We were a bit embarrassed, but very grateful for the wait, given the masssive Chinese security fortress surrounding the Secretary.
After a 20 minute ride (usually takes 40 minutes) across town, with the police escort, we arrived at a huge building with CHRISTIAN CHURCH emblazoned on the front. Secretary Clinton had climate change high up on her agenda so when we read from 1 Corinthians about being stewards of God's earth, we knew that the sermon would also reflect this theme of environmental stewardship. The pastor also brought up examples of Cain and Abel and preached about taking care of each other and he even brought up a parable about a Jewish and Arab man that took care of each other, Lazarus and the tax collector, so it seemed like he was trying to touch upon many aspects of foreign policy. Needless to say, it was not a short sermon.
It was really wonderful to see Secretary Clinton and some old colleagues who are at the State Department now. The Clintons always foster a sense of family amongst their staff and even after eight years following the Clinton Presidency, we still keep in touch. I am and always will be so proud to have been a part of that history. But Secretary Clinton has had an amazing trip to Asia and brought so much pride back to so many Americans living overseas with her grace and poise and intelligence. Obama sure knew what he was doing when he picked her as top ambassador! Hillary makes us proud! Maybe Sophia can follow in her footsteps one day.
3 comments:
maybe YOU could follow in her footsteps...carolyn for president!
Wow, what a cool experience! Can't wait to catch up with you sometime and hear about your adventures.
I could sure use a nanny and a driver...maybe I need to move to China! :) How great you were able to catch up with her. I still have great memories of walking those halls with the huge doors swinging open to visit you at work!
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