LANSDOWNE, VIRGINIA / SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN (ANS) -- Prison Fellowship Founder Chuck Colson has received the Presidential Citizens Medal from outgoing US President George W. Bush in an Oval Office ceremony at the White House.

The award was created by President Richard Nixon in 1969 to recognize U.S. citizens “who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”

Chuck Colson with President George W. Bush

The Presidential Citizens Medal is one of the highest honors the President can give a civilian, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Approximately 100 people have been awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal including Hank Aaron, Muhammad Ali, Archibald Cox, Senator Bob Dole, Elizabeth Taylor and Jeana Yeager.

The Presidential Citizens Medal was established in November 13, 1969 to recognize U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation. The medal is bestowed by the President and may be conferred posthumously.

The Presidential Citizens Medal

The citation for the medal awarded to Mr. Colson states: "For more than three decades, Chuck Colson has dedicated his life to sharing the message of God’s boundless love and mercy with prisoners, former prisoners, and their families. Through his strong faith and leadership, he has helped courageous men and women from around the world make successful transitions back into society. The United States honors Chuck Colson for his good heart and his compassionate efforts to renew a spirit of purpose in the lives of countless individuals."

Mr. Colson released the following statement about this honor: "I am deeply humbled by this award for which I can take no credit. Whatever good I may have done is because God saw fit to reach into the depths of Watergate and convert a broken sinner. Everything that has been accomplished these past 35 years has been by God’s grace and sovereign design.

"I do not treat this medal as mine; It is, like in the military, a unit citation. The staff of Prison Fellowship, the thousands of volunteers and the hundreds of thousands of donors have made this possible. So while I am overwhelmed in gratitude to God, I am grateful to all those associated in this movement called Prison Fellowship."

Colson is founder of Prison Fellowship, the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, and BreakPoint, which equips Christians to live out their faith in the culture.

Mr. Colson has also been the recipient of the $1 million Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion-1993 (Colson donated the prize money to Prison Fellowship), the Humanitarian Award, Domino's Pizza Corporation-1991, The Others Award from Salvation Army-1990, and the Outstanding Young Man of Boston from the Boston Chamber of Commerce in 1960.

Mr. Colson resides with his wife Patty in Florida. He has three children, Wendell, Christian and Emily, and five grandchildren.

Christian Freedom International Presents 2008 Freedom Award to First Lady Laura Bush

US First Lady Laura Bush

Meanwhile, at the end of last week, Christian Freedom International (CFI), a Michigan-based relief organization, presented its 2008 Freedom Award to U.S. First Lady Laura Bush in recognition of her ongoing efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Burma.

A media release from CFI says that in recent years, Mrs. Bush has become an outspoken advocate for the hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees who have greatly suffered as a result of the country's unending civil war.

"For nearly 60 years, Burma's military government has enforced a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign against many of its own citizens, particularly the Karen, which has included the use of rape, murder, forced conscription into the Burmese army, human trafficking, and widespread destruction of homes and crops. Even as thousands of Burma's citizens continue to hide in the mountains or jungles, or live out meager existences in refugee camps, the crisis remains as one of the least known tragic events in the worldwide community," the release stated.

It adds: "Mrs. Bush has consistently called on the Burmese government to end the violence that has torn the nation apart for over five decades, and has also called for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democratic leader who has been under house arrest since 1989.

"In an effort to raise international awareness, Mrs. Bush hosted the Dialogue on Burma during the U.N. General Assembly in September 2006, a conference in which CFI President Jim Jacobson was an invited participant. In August 2008, Mrs. Bush traveled to Thailand and toured the Mae La refugee camp before leaving behind crates of donated supplies, including thousands of mosquito nets."

CFI has worked extensively in Burma since 1998, delivering food, medicine, Bibles and other humanitarian aid to thousands of Karen and Karenni refugees. CFI also operates several schools, orphanages, and hospitals in the region, and provides microenterprise support to artisans who generate income for themselves through the sale of their handcrafted products in the United States. The organization has also worked with Ellen Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary of State and the 2007 recipient of the CFI Freedom Award, to facilitate the resettlement effort that allows Burma's refugees to seek asylum in the United States.

To view the video of First Lady Laura Bush receiving her award or for more information about refugee resettlement, or CFI's humanitarian work in Burma, visit www.christianfreedom.org .

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael has traveled to Albania and the former Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany and the former Czechoslovakia, Israel,and Canada. He has reported for ANS from Jordan, China, Russia, Jamaica, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International.