12.25.2008
Merry Christmas!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 11:42 AM 2 comments
12.13.2008
We are now in Illinois!
We moved December 1st and boy was it fun. The weather didn't turn out like we had wanted, but God protected us and kept us safe. We saw 3 different accidents seconds after they had just happened - in all we saw about 12 cars off the road. We were very excited to arrive safely and to be on solid ground. The Uhaul and our cars had think layers of ice and were super dirty. But, all in all we were really excited to be where God has called us to be!
Some of the students from Illinois State unpacking and putting away our kitchen stuff!
More of the students unpacking and helping out!
Our nieces came to help us, too! They even spent the first night with us, so they could help us unpack more the next day. They didn't know they were going to spend the night - so they loved wearing Aunt Andrea's T-shirts to bed.
Our living room!
Our bedroom!
One of our bathrooms!
Other part of our living room - decorated for Christmas!
In other news, we have been really enjoying our new job. We love the people we work with and the students. We were able to attend the weekly Campus Crusade for Christ meeting at Illinois State and got to take part in staff development week. It has been such a joy being where God has called us to be! The students even welcomed us by decorating our cars with window paint!
Hope you are all doing well and taking joy in the Lord this Christmas season!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 12:23 PM 2 comments
11.27.2008
We have so much to be thankful for...
Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for all of you!
We are so thankful to God for how He has provided for us this year. We will be moving to Bloomington, Illinois this Monday! Yay! We are so excited to finally work with college students! Thank you so much for your giving hearts and prayers! We are so thankful to God that He would be gracious enough to let us move in time for Christmas and the beginning of the second semester!
We were also blessed with being able to attend Fall Staff Conference with Campus Crusade for Christ last weekend. It was such a joyous time meeting other staff and rejoicing for all God has done. We also were given a clear vision as to where the ministry is heading and also saw the bigger picture of how God has been at work in college students' lives all across the world.
So, Monday is the big moving day. Will you please pray for us and all would go well? Joe will be driving the big Uhaul truck with a car trailer on the back. I trust he will do well driving, but also know it could be difficult maneuvering the big ol' thing. Many students and other staff with Campus Crusade for Christ are going to help us unload in Illinois, as well as my sister!
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving! Again, we are so thankful for you!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 11:54 AM 3 comments
11.15.2008
Apartment update ... and Go Buckeyes!
Thank you for your prayers for our housing issues, we really appreciate it! The apartment company has been much nicer, which has been a blessing. We will now be renting an apartment with the company in the same complex but an older apartment. It is really similar, except there are more units in the building and it doesn't have a view of the pond. We are still excited about it and glad how God has provided. They are giving us a month's free rent, which helps too!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 2:35 PM 2 comments
11.06.2008
Apartment Issues...
Sad to say, the apartment pictures in the last post will not be exactly where we are going to live. After putting a security deposit down on the apartment and such, we were informed that they double booked us! Supposedly, 6 other people had come in prior to us and put security deposits down and they forgot to mark the changes on the housing board we saw in the rental office. The whole issue goes beyond that - but that is the brief version of what happened.
The apartment company told us that they had no other units available in all their apartment complexes and they would let us know as soon as possible when they did. So, Joe and I just prayed and sought the Lord's advice on what to do. We were so disappointed to not get the place we liked and frustrated on what to do next. We are hoping to be moving in the next one to two months and suddenly we had no housing. It was also hard because the company didn't seem like they wanted to work with us or give us any compensation for our trouble. We shared with the company that we understood everyone makes mistakes and nobody is perfect, but we were still sad and frustrated. We also felt like they weren't telling us the whole truth on the issue. So, that was yesterday.
Today, the leasing agent from the apartment company called and said they had a unit for us in an older building and would actually give us a month's free rent. They were nicer and actually said they were sorry. It would be in the same complex.
So, if you could please pray for us and that we would follow what the Lord would want us to do. We are unsure if we should still stay with the company or find somewhere else.
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 8:46 PM 3 comments
10.27.2008
Our new apartment.... eventually
Our actual building... we think we are the top floor on the left! I love how quaint the area is - a couple ponds and a field. There is also a neighborhood a little distance away.
The living room with fireplace. The oven won't actually be in the middle of the room, they didn't install the appliances yet.
I love the kitchen!
One of the bathrooms.....We are pretty sure this will be the actual view we have from our apartment. We love the fact that the pond is stocked with fish and they allow you to go fishing!
We are so excited and can't wait to move to the great "Land of Lincoln". We also had a great time visiting with our future Campus Crusade for Christ staff team as we went out to a local pizza joint. Another perk is that Andrea's sister lives about 50 minutes from Bloomington so we got to spend quality time with the family, too!
We went on a walk in Peoria on a bluff overlooking the Illinois River. It was beautiful, especially with the fall colors. Andrea and her sister, Jill (above) and (below) our bro-in-law Glenn and one of our niece's, Ava.
Hope everyone is having a great fall... or should I say winter.. it has been so cold! We will keep you updated on our moving plans and how God has been providing. Thanks for sharing in our excitement!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 9:53 PM 2 comments
10.19.2008
Fall Festivities!
It has been a long time since I have updated. But in recent news, we have been enjoying the joys of Fall. It has been exciting seeing the combines out in full force and the leaves starting to change colors. Today, Joe and I carved a pumpkin. We picked out the beauty at a fundraiser a ministry was doing locally. Here are some pictures from the fun!Before carving the pumpkin....
Scooping out the guts... There wasn't much! Joe carving and making the final touches.
Us with the finished product. We were really excited for how it turned out! It looked really neat when we lit it up, too!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 7:46 PM 0 comments
9.25.2008
Traveling...
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 3:47 PM 0 comments
9.12.2008
Air Force Museum
Joe checking out a plane in the newer section of planes (above). Joe and I went into the huge cargo plane behind us that is used for transport and war (below).
Our favorite part of the museum was in a hanger that was on the active part of the base. The hanger included old Air Force Ones from past presidents and also a research and development section.
Truman's Air Force One plane, "The Independent".
We really enjoyed touring the old Air Force One's but the only thing was the aisles in the planes were super narrow due to the plexi glass. Is was semi claustrophobic. We even got to tour the Air Force One that presidents Kennedy to Clinton had and transported Kennedy's body from Texas to D.C. In the research and development hanger. It was quite neat as the plane pictured in the background is the only one in the world. There were also other different looking planes that they used to test certain engines or wing patterns, etc.
This is one of the most different ideas we saw in the R&D section. This plane takes off and lands vertically. There is a cable it catches to make it possible.
We really enjoyed ourselves at the museum and the best part is.. it was free!
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 9:44 AM 1 comments
8.27.2008
First backpacking trip!
Joe and I on the trail!
So, Joe and I ended up hiking around 4 miles on Monday evening. The weather was beautiful and we saw lots of toads, birds, and a snake! We were quite tired by the time we got to camp. Our feet were hurting and we were ready to sit down!
Joe packing up our sleeping bags in the tent and (below) us with the campsite sign at Oak Ridge. Thus begins the second day of hiking. We decided to hike around 6 miles!
Joe blazing the trail! We had another great day with beautiful weather!
We made it back to where we started! We had such a great time experiencing God in nature and having fun as a couple! We are excited for many more backpacking adventures in the future! We had so much fun! :)
Posted by Joe and Andrea Correll at 12:10 PM 0 comments