DEPARTURE CLEARANCE

Those were the words we were hoping for so that we could get to this place that we knew God had called us.  As the start of the school year drew closer, lots of people thought we were crazy to still be holding onto a hope that He would get us there in time to start the school year ministering to these missionary kids in Germany.  (I, myself, while hopeful, still doubted that it would happen)But, God.  I put a period there because I feel like that phrase stands alone (not grammatically, I realize) and we have witnessed that over and over in this process.  God has known all along exactly what He was doing.  He needed us to say yes to Him and be obedient in putting one step in front of the other, and He needed the many members of team Dockrey to say yes as well - to be diligent in prayer, to lift us up, to sacrifice your finances in order to make it possible for us to go.  God knew all along who would make up this incredible team and He absolutely made it happen in His timing.So, about 3 weeks ago, we were about halfway through our support raising efforts - the process of raising the necessary funds to sustain the ministry God called us to in Germany (which, in case you've missed it is to work at a school called Black Forest Academy - an international Christian school serving primarily missionary students whose parents are serving in over 60 different countries to spread the gospel).  We were still working as hard as we could and simply being obedient to invite others in to pray about whether or not God would have them join our team.  We met with a couple one night and they began to ask some questions via text when we returned home.  They asked what it would take to get us to the field in time to start school with the students.  We explained that there was still a small amount needed in our outgoing expenses, but that we would need this certain amount committed to annually.  They responded with - okay, we are going to give that outgoing expense amount plus commit to the annual amount for this year only.  WOW!  Well, after I spoke with our mentor with our mission organization, I began to realize that I had miscalculated.  I texted my friend the next morning to let her know that I had miscalculated and that we would be short x amount.  What happened next was the Lord just proving to us that He was in control the whole time.  My friend called me and said Carol, after you guys left our house, we began to pray about what God would have us do.  We decided to text each other the number we felt God was laying on our hearts.  Guess what that number was for each of us?!  It was the exact amount we needed after my miscalculation was discovered!!I would say that his is CRAZY, but it is 100% the Lord at work.  We knew He wanted to get us there and we knew He had a plan to make it happen, but it is so super cool to watch how He decides to do it!So, thus began a whirlwind of selling, storing, donating, or packing EVERY SINGLE thing we own!!  And if you know us at all, you know that Lance never throws away a single thing.  The last few weeks has been a bit overwhelming for sure, but so so good.  We have felt extremely loved and encouraged, and I told someone recently that I could literally feel the prayers being prayed over us because I have not stressed out (much).We fly to Germany TOMORROW!  And when we land there (well, we actually land in Switzerland and drive to Germany), we're going to live there!  God literally put this love for Germany, this pull to one day live there for His glory in our hearts almost 20 years ago.  So, to say that we will finally be doing just that is sort of surreal, but also just such a testament to what He can do when you just say Yes to Him.Much love to all of you -- I promise to update regularly. ;)