Who's In Charge?

There have been times when standing in line at the DMV or trying to muddle through all the red tape usually associated with doing anything through the government systems, that I have wondered if God is really in charge here or has he allowed Satan to take over?  Well, He must have thought I needed a reminder this week that, yes, He is in charge, because God really showed off for the Pirkles this week. Before leaving the states in January, we worked hard to obtain all the documents we knew that we needed to begin the residency process once we arrived in Honduras.   We had to have all these documents apostilled by the Department of State from the which they were issued and then authenticated by the Honduras consulate.  The consulate did not authenticate the background checks, so we thought they didn't need it.  Well, we were wrong.  Thus began the scramble to get a new background check and have it brought with our visitors that are coming next week.  If we were unable to do so, it would put the entire process on hold for at least a month.  We were able to order new background checks online.  My parents knew someone that would notarize them.  Then they needed to be sent to Vance's cousin in Atlanta who would take them to the consulate to have them authenticated and send them with his children who are coming to visit.  We thought we had it all figured out. 
First email from Chris explaining the situation:

"Rec'd letter from Buford. Docs are signed by notary but the notary did not place her seal on the docs. That notwithstanding, I went to the Honduran Consulate for authentication; she sent me to the Superior Court stating they must first be apostiled. Superior Court will not issue apostile without the notary's seal on the document."

At this point I began to try and figure out ways to get documents overnighted, etc. to see if we could still make this happen, knowing that typically documents have to be apostilled in the state they were issued so they would need to first go to Columbia, then back to Atlanta.  But it seemed impossible.  Had I known at that point that Chris was boarding a plane in just a couple of hours, I would have known it was impossible. As I was getting ready to send an email back to Chris to tell him we would just have to send the document back to my dad and we would try to get it sent with the visitors coming in a month, I received another email saying he was still working on it.  Later he sent this detailed email detailing his morning.  As you read, note all the small details that God coordinated.  In my mind there is no other explanation.

"Quite eventful morning - not sure I explained it all (and now, while I am on a 4 hour flight, I will).  When the Court rejected the document, I immediately began composing an email to you with options (mail back to Buford; try to get another copy and have Yvonne's office notarize, other???) all knowing that my flight to LA was leaving at 1:30 - and I do not return until Friday (with the kids flying first thing Sat AM).  Suddenly, as if I was on the Damascus road, the idea of running to the office to have a new form notarized hit me.  No traffic; one of the few parking spots right in front of the building was open, my notary was free, no traffic on the way back, no line at the Superior Court, the clerk finished in less than five minutes, no traffic on the way to the Consulate.  At the Consulate, there were people outside the building and probably 100 in the lobby, but as I approached the lower level office a man greeted me, escorted me to the 2nd floor where I waited about three minutes, was received by the guy who processed the paperwork, learned he was charging $80 total, waited 10 minutes, paid, and took a liesurely ride to ATL where I had a five person line in security, was the last person allowed in my secruity lane (closing for lunch), took a relaxed lunch, and boarded the flight."

Remember that all of this took place in Atlanta.  I'm not sure I have ever experienced being in Atlanta without traffic.  Also, we were dealing with government offices, where things typically never happen quickly.  In my human way of thinking, none of these steps should have happened, much less all of them within a few hours. 

BUT GOD! He is is in control  of traffic in Atlanta. He is in control of parking spots.  He is in control of notaries.  He is in control of superior courts. He is in control Honduran consulates. He is in control of all and will cause His plans to succeed!
Isaiah 14:24 "The Lord almight has sworn, 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.'"
Please continue to pray for continued favor as we hope to send all the paperwork to the lawyer to begin our residency process next week.  Having this process go quickly and smoothly could mean saving us thousands of dollars in travel expenses.