Make a bee-line for tree-line...

More Colorado... more hiking... more adventure. We had a day off while at national staff conference and took advantage of the day by going on a long hike. We went with some of our good friends and headed out at 4:30am for Rocky Mountain National Park. For some reason, I never get car sick anywhere, but when heading to the Park. Two years ago, I felt super nauseous... and this time.. not too good.. As we drove around this snaking road up and around and really high, I decided I should probably get out briefly to help with the car sickness - just to walk around. Instead I got out, took ten steps, and ended up throwing-up. Not what I was planning... before a 11 mile hike.

Eventually, we made it to the trail head for Mt. Ida. It was pretty neat as we knew we would hike some of the Continental Divide. It started as a beautiful day and super cold.. so cold we wished we would of had gloves. We hiked and hiked and hiked.. and almost all had some form of altitude sickness.. and got pretty wore out from the elevation change. For much of the time, we were above tree-line...which basically means, no trees.. but on this trail it also meant, no nothing... for most of the time (not even rocks). The reason I tell you this now, is there is quite a story later where I will mention the tree-line.

The nothing-ness above tree-line...

So, pretty tired.. we kept trekking for the summit. As we were getting higher and higher, we noticed more and more clouds and were getting more and more hungry... and less and less energy... and feeling the effects of altitude sickness. We saw several people going back down and advising us they were turning around because they didn't like the look of the clouds. They didn't want to get caught above tree-line in a storm. We weren't at the summit yet, but knew we needed some added energy and decided to eat. We made a group decision that indeed the clouds didn't look good and even though we were like a 1/4 mile from the summit that we should take others' advice and head back down the mountain. Oh, and the reason we left so early in the morning is because you want to summit and get back below tree-line before 2ish, because storms can blow in quickly and you don't want to get stuck above tree-line, because as I mentioned before... there is nothing.. no trees.. and in our case no rocks... no nothing. So, you are basically the tallest thing for miles and thus lightning can strike you way more easily.

So, back down we headed... and lo and behold in blew the storm.. way earlier than most storms typically blow-in above tree-line. It began with rain, which I could handle. Then it began hailing... and hailing.. and hard hailing.. and then I heard it.. the loudest crack of thunder in my life and down I fell. No.. I didn't get struck by lighting.. but knew lighting and thunder tangoed and knew that I was the tallest thing for miles.. and so my body reacted to that truth by falling instantaneously after the thunder. I have a good bruise to prove it.


I was scared.... yup.. really scared. Praise the Lord that I have the greatest husband ever, who immediately started claiming Bible verses and praying. We were literally face-down on the side of the mountain giving adoration to the Lord, praying that He would protect us, protect our friends (who are pregnant), and spare our lives. Joe told me later that he was the most scared he ever was in his life.. but knew I needed him and so didn't act scared. We finally arose after what seemed like the longest 15 minutes in my life. Then we ran... ran.. ran so fast... even though 20 minutes prior we all thought we were so tired that we couldn't walk another step. God gave us His strength and adrenaline. We ran almost all the way down.. it took us 2 hours to get down the mountain when it had taken us 5 hours to get up! We were freezing from the hail and pooped.. but so thankful for the Lord's protection!

And yet again.... more traveling

Monday we packed up the rental car and headed out to Colorado for National Staff Conference with Campus Crusade for Christ. 6,000 staff members descend on Colorado State University to hear from leadership, national speakers, to be refreshed, and to gain more perspective on ministry.

On the way out to Colorado, we stopped for a night in the middle of Nebraska. Neither of us had ever been to Nebraska before... but we sure did like their speed limit - 75 mph! Upon entering the town of Ogallala, we decided to stop at their local restaurant. It was called "The Golden Spur". Quite an interesting place and a memorable experience. So, we then proceeded to camp out at this state park in this middle of nowhere town. It was super buggy and the lightening lit up the sky all night. Thank the Lord that it never stormed but was just lightning in the distance. The camp sight was awesome, as it was located on a dam of a 22 mile river.

On top of the dam... to the left of Andrea's head is where we camped!

So, we continued driving on Tuesday and finally made it to our destination of Fort Collins. We have been having a great time here so far! We have heard from nationally known speaker, Tim Keller, and have really enjoyed hearing the national leadership team. It has been refreshing and encouraging... and so fun to see friends! We feel God has really been meeting us and challenging our hearts. Today we had a super encouraging time listening to this guy speak through the 7 days of creation alongside pictures (it doesn't sound neat... but let me tell you it was awesome!). If you want to see a version of the video click here http://vimeo.com/3764850 .

We also had a chance to go hiking, which is one of our favorite things to do together! It was also super fun, because we went with some of our really good friends! Crazy thing... the hike took a while longer than expected and was a little more strenuous than expected. The website lied on some of the details of the hike .... but it was still fun.... We wanted to do an easier hike to prepare for a longer 9 miler we will be doing later in the week.

We thought it was interesting... at the top of the mountain was a pond. The view was great! This is a creature we almost stepped on... could of caused some havoc.. as we were pretty sure it was a rattlesnake (our friends got really close up pictures). It was right on the trail and luckily our friend spotted it. My friend had to explain to me several times where the snake actually was because it was so camouflaged. It is in-between the two roots in the middle of the picture... all curled up!

Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!

What a summer it has been...

So, again... I am super bad on updating our blog... apologies. We have had limited Internet access for the past couple months and little time...but that has all equaled out to one amazing summer!

In the last post I wrote about our many travels... but the main place we have been this summer is in Virginia Beach for a summer missions trip (summer project) with Campus Crusade. We were there for 6 weeks and just got home a couple days ago.

Here are a bunch of pictures.. I will just put some pictures to explain our time there.

5 students from central Illinois also came to Virginia Beach to be spiritually developed and grow in reaching others for Christ. It was super fun to get to know them better and to see their faith grow in the brief 5 weeks we were with them. There were a total of 74 students and 28 staff from all over U.S. The staff left, but the students now take over project and will be there for another 4 weeks.

Joe met with 4 guys weekly and also led them in Bible study. (L to R) Greg from Ohio State, Ryan from MSU, Joe, Adam from U of M, and Billy from Albion. Andrea also met with 4 gals weekly and led them in Bible study. (L to R) Andrea, Amanda from MSU, Leah from Illinois State, Kaitlyn from U of M, and Lindsey from U of Illinois. We really had a great time getting to know these guys and gals and seeing God transform their lives this summer!

We really enjoyed getting to know other staff with CCC. We had an awesome dinner co-op (above) where we cooked one night a week for 9 of us, and then we were cooked for 3 other times throughout the week! We really enjoyed getting to know everyone more and getting good home cooked meals! (Below) Some friends we really enjoyed working and getting to know better this summer.

These two pictures are some of our favorites from the summer. (Above) Joe with Josh... who accepted Christ with Joe on the boardwalk. Joe was able to continue to pursue him throughout the summer and give him a Bible and talk more about what it means to walk with Christ. (Below) Andrea with Lindsey - the other 2 girls accepted Christ right on the beach after talking about spiritual matters!

We had a large battle on the beach representing good vs. evil. We dressed up in red and blue body paint and cardboard armor. We marched on the boardwalk inviting bystanders to come watch the battle.

There is a spiritual battle waging war for our souls. Jesus has prevailed and provided a way for us to get to God. Over 300 people watched the battle with the Gospel being shared. Students and staff then talked with people more about the battle and their spirituality. Hopefully soon the video from the battle will be available on YouTube if you want to see more! (Above) Another fun outreach we had included large ice cream sundaes in one super long gutter.
(Above) We really liked going kayaking for the first time.... It was super fun! We had fun at the 4th of July bash... Joe liked trying to hit the pinata (below).We went out for a nice dinner with the staff team. It was so great, as we ate really near the water. That same night, we went on a dolphin cruise. We saw many dolphins and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. There is so much more to share... but those our some brief highlights! We will again be traveling, as we will be going to Colorado for national staff conference with CCC later this week!

This and that...and traveling!

May has been a very busy month for us so far.... and will continue to be...

We had a leadership overnighter for central Illinois Campus Crusade. It was fun celebrating what God has done this past year and planning some events and outreaches for the fall semester.

Using party hats and squawker blowers to celebrate!!! (Below) Students praying for their campuses!


We traveled to Ohio for the first and second time since we moved to Illinois. It was super fun to see family and spend some quality time with them!

Joe having fun with our nephew Toby! (Below) Andrea with our adorable niece Luci!



We will be traveling a lot this summer. Joe is in a wedding in Louisville Memorial Day weekend - one of our good friends is getting married. We are spending 3 nights in Louisville, then a night in West Virginia, and a night in Virginia. Oh.. and not to mention our 3 year anniversary in there. We then have to be in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for six weeks for summer project (mission trip). We are so excited to see what God does in us and thru us and the 6 students from central IL that will be with us in VA Beach! Then home for a week to unpack and repack for National Staff Conference with Campus Crusade in Colorado at Colorado State University. Then back for the start of the fall semester. Whew.. busy summer... but lots of fun! Well, better get back to packing... feel like we are packing up our whole apartment! Hopefully everything will fit into our car... we'll see! Have a great summer!

All Scots Day....

Yesterday, Joe and I visited Monmouth College for the first time. It is one of the schools in our region that our team works on with Campus Crusade for Christ. The fun part about our visit was that it was "All Scots Day"! Basically, students had a day off from classes to celebrate Founder's Day - their founders being Scottish - hence "All Scots Day". The students wake up in the morning to the sound of bagpipes playing and have activities all day to celebrate! It was sorta sad as the weather was not so nice out, so they had to move everything inside - and everyone told us since it was inside they didn't have much going on. We did get free lunch and ice cream! It was great to connect with some of the students involved with Campus Crusade. As we were eating lunch, we heard a bang and then in came the drums and bagpipes! They played a little mini-concert while we ate lunch!

The best part about our visit to Monmouth was helping Campus Crusade students with an outreach they were having. We used a tool called "Soularium", which is a national survey using pictures to answer questions about God and spiritual beliefs (http://www.mysoularium.com/). It has been a great tool to hear what students believe and also a great way to transition to sharing the Gospel. We posted the picture cards on a cement pillar amidst the "All Scots Day" activities. We had some great conversations! It was so encouraging!

Some of the 50 pictures we posted on a pillar and (below) students sharing their thoughts about the images to describe their life now, what they wish were a part of their life, an image that describes God, what they've experienced spiritually, and what they wish were true about them spiritually.

Joe and (below) I both had the amazing privilege to share the Gospel with some students (thanks Lord)!

So.. it's been awhile....

Sorry it has been so long since I've last posted. Seems like things have been so busy... but in a good way!

Students from central Illinois that were in Panama City Beach with us!

March was a good month for us... we traveled to Panama City Beach, Florida for a spring break conference with Campus Crusade for Christ! 22 students from central Illinois came with us! It was interesting as the night before we were to leave, I (Andrea) got super sick - probably the sickest I have ever been! I thought I had food poisoning, but Joe and I had eaten the same thing prior, so I knew I just had a super bad case of the stomach flu. Joe and I were to travel with another person on staff with CCC.... and she also got the flu the same time I did. So, we had to send the students and go a day later. Other than the sickness, we had a great time sharing our faith in Christ with others on the beach and really getting to hang out with the students! A highlight of the week (which many of your probably read in our newsletter) was one of the students (Anthony) who went with us accepted Christ with Joe at the end of our week there! It was so encouraging to see God at work in Anthony's life!

Joe and Anthony

April has been a super busy month thus far... especially since we are only 5 days in! I celebrated my 25th birthday on the 2nd, we had a fellowship dinner here locally for our ministry with Central Illinois Campus Crusade for Christ team, men's camping for Joe, and our niece's 6th birthday party!

(ABOVE) Who we work with - the central Illinois Campus Crusade for Christ staff at the fellowship dinner! Laurie, Joe, me, Kate, and Jeff. We are so sad because Kate and Jeff are moving to Michigan to work with CCC there. We know God will use them greatly, but sad to see them go.. because we like them a lot!

Ellie and I at Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday party! It was so fun... maybe because Joe and I are kids at heart!

Hope you are having a great start to April... despite the cold weather! Thanks for looking at our blog and keepin' up with the Correll's!

Well... it's official

We officially became residents of Illinois today...but are still buckeyes at heart! I'd have to say, Illinois DMV has it down pat. We had taken the written test, got our new licenses, titles, and license plates all in under an hour. I feel like in Ohio that would have taken like 3 hours - or maybe that has just been my experiences. I tell you what, Illinois is expensive though. Golly jee, we thought that we would get away cheap because our licenses were only $10 a piece...but not so fast, we walked away spending almost $300!ISU students at the "Every Student Sent" conference

In other news, we have been pretty busy lately. In mid-February, we were gone for a week to attend two different conferences. One conference was for all new staff with Campus Crusade for Christ that had reported to their ministry assignment within the last year. It was a great time learning new things and getting to meet new people. We feel like we got a lot of tools for our ministry toolbox. At the end of the week, we went to Indianapolis for the "Every Student Sent"conference with CCC for juniors and seniors. The speakers were amazing and challenged students to live their lives and futures for Christ and not what the world portrays as success. It was awesome hanging out with students and even reflect on our own relationships with Christ.

We have been loving the random heat waves, so one Saturday we soaked it up by going to a park close to town. It was quite muddy, but enjoyable as we saw nearly 25 deer.

It was awesome to be able to go hiking and it was so peaceful. We saw about 8 deer attempting to cross the road. I think they saw us and retreated, so I made Joe hide behind some pine trees with me. They then came back out and since it was so quiet, you could hear the pitter-patter of their hooves on the pavement.

My (Andrea) parents came to visit this weekend! It was great to see them and to spend time together as a whole family. My sister only lives about 45 min. from us, so we all stayed with her. My niece had gone to a cheer session and then got to perform at the boy's varsity basketball game on Friday night with the rest of the kindergartners. It was pretty hilarious as we asked her before the performance to rehearse her cheers. She told us "Bingi, Lilo, go, go!". She wasn't sure who Bingi and Lilo were - we thought maybe the mascots or something. So, when she did perform we realized the cheer was supposed to be "Big G, little o, GO, GO". So, she was to be spelling "go", instead of Bingi and Lilo. It was pretty cute!

Our niece Ellie before her half-time cheer-leading show!

We are enjoying the periods of warm weather and can't wait to go to the beach for spring break!

Fun in Illinois...

Well, it has been a little while since I last posted. SO, I will have to recap you on our January.

We are still trying to learn new things about Bloomington and have been enjoying spending most of our time with students. A fun way we have been learning about Bloomington "hot spots" or super fun things to do is through our weekly dates. Joe and I take turns planning our Wednesday date night. We try to pick a new place to go out to eat, visit, or explore. One of my dates was going to an Illinois State men's basketball game. We had a blast - it was a close game and the redbirds won!

Joe took me to a cool restaurant with a tree inside for one of our dates and to the library (we read each other children's books!). I learned that it costs 50 cents to get a movie from the library - I never knew that it cost to rent anything at any library - and I've been to a lot in my day.

Other things we have learned about the great state of Illinois is their love for Lincoln. Our co-workers with Campus Crusade for Christ all have Lincoln pride. I like Lincoln and all, but Joe and I aren't to that point yet. We have been seeking to start CCC on some schools in Springfield, and thus were near the tomb site of good ole honest Abe. In case you weren't aware, his tomb is in a middle of a cemetery in Springfield, Illinois and now I can say I've been there. As I mentioned before that our staff team has Lincoln pride, so they took us.

There is a large Lincoln head there. You are supposed to rub his nose for good luck (that's why the nose is so golden in comparison to the rest of the head). I can say the tomb was actually pretty neat.

So, I mentioned we have been learning about Bloomington and then spending most of our time with students! We have been loving our job so much (if you can even call it a job)! Joe and I meet with several students weekly from different universities in central Illinois. We are mostly on campus at ISU, since it is here in town. We have been enjoying getting to know students better and seeing them take steps of faith!

Daka, Brian, and Stephanie - students involved with CCC at ISU - having fun at "Winterfest".

We (Campus Crusade for Christ) just had a table at "Winterfest" at ISU. Winterfest is where students can come, explore, and gain information on all the campus organizations and groups. Students were asked if they would like to take a 60 second survey and then their name would be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card to Potbelly restaurant. Some of the questions on the survey were based on if they would like more information on CCC, CCC events, bible study, if they would want to know God personally, and if they would be interested in taking a spiritual questionnaire at a later date. We were very excited as many students marked they would be interested in finding out more. Joe and I had fun manning the table with some of the students!

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of our January! We are headed this upcoming week to Indiana for two different conferences with CCC!

There is more to life than college football...

Just wanted to pass along a wesbite in regards to the BCS national college football championship. On the site, various top college football players share about how Christ has changed their lives. Athletes in Action (the athletic ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ) put out the website www.beyondtheultimate.org where you can see video of Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford.

Indy Christmas Conference

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the New Year! We have had such a great time rejoicing in God and all His blessings.

Students at Indy Christmas Conference

One of the best things about being on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ is attending the annual Indianapolis Christmas Conference. It is such a joy to see 2000 college students gather for the prime purpose of experiencing God in new ways, growing, sharing their faith, and having fun! We were very busy this year - as all the staff with CCC from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan work various jobs to make the conference happen. Joe's job this year was manning the meeting doors to make sure only people a part of the conference could enter. He also had to clean up any garbage and such from the large meeting room. I was really excited about my job this year - even though it was a great responsibility. My friend and I were in charge of childcare for all of the staff families (making it possible for moms and dads to attend events). It was time consuming, but rewarding as I was able to glorify God using the gifts He's blessed me with (early childhood degree). I also got to meet many other staff and staff families (which is neat, since we don't know very many people!).
Joe being a door "bouncer".


We had a great time playing the game "Cranium" with the students from Illinois State University!

Every year there is a New Years Eve dance party. The theme this year was the 90's. Students from central Illinois dressed up as contestants of the 90's show "Legends of the Hidden Temple". I decided to bust a move and dance it up with the students!

Students praying "in" the New Year!


It was great being able to hang out with some of our students (playing games, good conversations, and dance party) and to see how God has been moving in their lives. Last year around 12 students from Illinois State University attended the conference and this year there were around 30! Many others from central Illinois schools also came! God did some amazing things! Two of our students saw someone accept Christ with them on the day of outreach (one who was sharing his faith for the very first time)! Others shared that they understood the vision of CCC and why it's important to share Christ with others! Students were challenged to take steps of faith and to trust God with their whole lives - no matter where He leads!

On the day of outreach, we pass out boxes of love, which our boxes of food to the local community of Indianapolis. We want to meet their physical needs, but also their spiritual needs as well. Our hope is to also have an opportunity to share the Gospel throughout the community.

Joe with his group on the day of outreach - Brian and Stephanie.

My group on the day of outreach ran into a woman and her little daughter. They were appreciative for the box of food and invited us in to discuss more about spiritual matters. I got to play with the little girl and talk to her a little about Jesus, while the 2 students I went with talked with the mom about Christ.


You can read more in our newsletter - but just wanted to share a few updates from our life!