I ask our Heavenly Father to put me on the minds of those who have been praying for me to pray for me yesterday and today. I needed to open a bank account here. One of the documents that I needed is obtained from a police station. It is a long story but, I went to a police station where I had a contact through someone I have known for the last three and one-half years. This friend of mine and I went to that police station yesterday but that officer was not there.   I went again to this police station this afternoon and in less than 15 minutes I was walking out of that police station with a signed, stamped, and valid document. I went to the bank, signed the forms, and later this afternoon Eliz and I went to the Bank, and she signed the forms so that either one of us can sign checks.  The people at the bank who helped us were professional and kind.   What an answer to prayer to have this bank account opened before I start teaching in four days.  I will not have time for these kinds of time consuming details.  I recognize that God was very gracious to me today.

      Perhaps you have read or heard of corruption in developing countries.  Actually there is corruption in every country and the United States is experiencing more and more as pagans and some of those who claim to be Christians disobey the Bible, i.e., what God has instructed His created people to be and how to live.  There is some corruption where I am living but it is not total.  There are some people in authority that are corrupt but  I have met and dealt with some people in authority who were very professional, honest, just  and were instruments  of God's grace in my life.  I met three police officers today who were professional, honest and just in their dealings with me.  I need to pray for these and others I have met here because of the pressure they face every day.  I remember seeing this kind of pressure when we lived in Cote d'Ivoire. 

             Once again, I am reminded of the sovereignty of God and that He does His work through people.  He could have chosen to work through angles, but He has chosen to work using people that He created.  Some of these people He uses know Him and some do not yet know Him, and some refuse to know Him, but He still works His will through them.  As I was reminded by my pastor in my home town this past December, God moved an emperor to call for a census so that God's Son would be born in Bethlehem.  As my pastor reminded us, that passage in Luke starts out with the emperor of Rome and then moves to the focus of Joseph and Mary and then moves to the focus and spotlight of the birth of His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  As God moved an emperor, He met the needs of His obedient servants, Joseph and Mary, to have His word fulfilled by having His Son take a human body, being born,  so that He could die for the sins of every man, woman, and child. All these events were examples of God's sovereignty and grace in action.  Today I was again reminded of How God is at work to accomplish His purposes and meets the needs of His obedient servants.  This officer that he used to help me obtain this important document crossed the path of my wife four years ago. I was not aware of this past connection but this officer did not forget this past connection, even thought this officer was now in a different location.  Amazing how God works.  Speaking of God working, our day started by friends taking us out to a small restaurant for breakfast, which was also sufficient to be our lunch.