Tornadoes, Thunderstorms, and Floods!

This week is not fun for many South Dakotans.  Today we had weather reports on TV pretty much all day.  There were first reports from the Dakota Dunes that all of the residents were told to evacuate due to the flooding that is about to happen.  They have to open up the dam which will flood the Missouri River, and many of the houses may be under water.  They were told to be prepared to be away from their homes for at least 2 months.

Then, we had reports that interrupted our evening programs (and rightfully so...it was bad weather).  There were tornadoes across central to eastern South Dakota...I believe there were 4 confirmed touchdowns, but they were not nearly as bad as those that plagued Missouri last week.

Here in Sioux Falls we're in a tornado watch until 2am, but I doubt that anything will become of it.  Sioux Falls itself rarely gets tornadoes...but it does happen on occasion.

My point in saying all of this is mainly to raise awareness to the fact that there are lots of people hurting right now...whether in South Dakota, Missouri, or elsewhere...due to natural disasters...mainly tornadoes right now.  I would like to extend an invitation to all of you to pray for those displaced or otherwise affected by the severe weather that has been plaguing us lately.  Please pray for the safety of all as we live our lives, and pray for God to keep us safe from this weather, and to calm the storms if it is in His will.

In other news, I finally am getting my support letters sent out soon.  I have my final letter edited and ready to print out--I just have to get it printed and address the envelopes.  I should be getting on that soon, huh?!

I want to also give a shout out to those who are viewing my blog!  I've had people from 10 different countries read parts of my blog, and I think that's awesome!  Thanks for reading, and I pray that you continue to read how God is impacting my life, and to see what God is planning in my life in Macau!!

Random Musings

a) God is GREAT!!!
b) A job is a means to make money.  A career is enjoying what you do, and you just happen to get paid for it.  I have a job right now, and will be starting my career in August...though I won't get paid much...but that's not an issue for me.
c) Bananagrams is an amazing game.
d) Wedding season is now open!
e) Rental cars are very expensive, especially for people under 25 like me.
f) I always seem to blog between midnight and 1am...a bad trend to keep...
g) I am on my way to TEXAS in 5 days!
h) My jalepeño plant is planted, and hopefully will produce peppers before I move
i) God is GREAT!!! I said that already, but it should be said more than once, 'cause God is just that awesome.

The end of the world as we know it?

A preacher in California claims that today at 6pm (pacific time?), the second coming of Christ will happen.  He has spent decades in Scripture, and just knows that the facts add up.  But what is the proof that he claims to have?  I read his website, and saw no actual proof...he just claimed to have the proof.  Unfortunately, I think he missed the only verse that actually points us in the right direction in terms of when Christ is coming.  No one knows the hour except for the Father.  Click on that link to read the entire passage from Matthew.  So will Jesus come today?  Maybe.  Or maybe not!  It's not for us to put human logic into it to deduct when Christ is coming.

Let's rejoice in the fact that we have a merciful Savior who will come again to bring us to life eternal.  Whether or not He comes today, we do not know.  But I rejoice in the fact that when He does come, He will take all believers with Him to new life!

In other news: I just received a very generous donation from my home church to go towards my ministry in Macau!  I am thrilled that they are becoming partners with me, and I am so thankful for their help and support.  Everyone in the congregation is asking me when I leave and if I'm excited, and telling me that they think about me.  I am so blessed to have this support from so many people!

This brings me to about 38% funded, and I need to raise $8600 more before I can leave, and $19,000 more before I am fully funded.

Praise God for His plan for these funds.  He already knows where the money is coming from, and is instilling into the hearts of my partners the desire to help fund my ministry.  I pray that He allows the funds to come in in time so that I am able to leave in August, and I pray that not only am I blessed through this mission, but that the people of Macau are blessed, and that the people who are partners with me in this mission are blessed as well!

Friend time :)

Well, I am sitting here watching "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" and waiting for my friends to wake up :)  I have friends who came from Wisconsin to visit me on their way across the midwest to end up in Idaho.  I am excited to spend some time with them, as it is most likely the last time I'll get to see them before I move to China.

Speaking of China, my support continues to trickle in, and I am finding myself behind on Thank You's.  I am writing some now, and I just hope that nobody gets angry that they're probably going to be belated!!!

I have been sick the last week or 2, and am trying very hard to get better.  I've been at the doctor 2 times, and both times they can't come up with anything to diagnose me with.  But I know it's not strep, and it's not mono...I guess that's an alright deduction so far.  I just need to make sure that I don't get anybody sick in the process of getting better.  As long as I don't cough on my friends I think that it will be ok.

Prayer Requests:
for all those traveling right now, especially those I know;
for my sickness to be done;
for my friend Ashleigh who is under the weather as well;
for my middle/high school classmate Katrina's family: she lost her younger brother (16) to cancer, and the funeral is today.

Chinese Dumplings

Today, I had a lot of fun.  I taught the youth group at Memorial how to make Chinese Dumplings.  This time, as opposed to the last time I made them, we used the real vegetables that the recipe calls for.  It was wonderful!  I am not used to being "master chef" in the kitchen with 10 people, so I failed a little bit and burnt the rice, but the top of the rice was alright, and it tasted ok.

It was so much fun, though, teaching people how to make something.  Everyone enjoyed them, and I got a little foreshadowing of what something might be like when I am in China.  As an English teacher, I feel it is also my duty to teach culture.  A HUGE part of culture is food!  I hope to be teaching the Chinese people how to make American food!  Granted, that will entail mostly macaroni and cheese and hamburgers, but that's alright!  We'll come up with something wonderful to make.  They don't really have dairy or beef in China--no cows.  BUT...you can get it at a high price.  I plan to get at least enough to teach people how to make hamburgers and something with cheese :)

Awesome.

I will leave you with this: we had a thunderstorm today.  It's just finishing raining.  I really enjoy rain--especially afterwards!  Everything is sooo clean!  The trees had just budded and then overnight the green leaves appeared.  Unfortunately, though, I had brown stuff all over my car as a result.  But after this rain, it is sooo clean!  When we are baptized, the dirt of our lives is just washed away.  We are a new person!  God sent His Son to forgive our sins, and through belief in Him, we are forgiven.  The rain reminds me of this as I smell the fresh scent of wonderfulness.

Enjoy a glass of hot tea, and reflect upon what God has done for you today!

Ingredients

Guess what these ingredients add up to....

• Napa Cabbage
• Mushrooms
• Green Onions
• Soy Sauce
• Ginger
• Sesame Oil
• Bamboo Shoots
• Flour
• Water
• Garlic
• Rice
• A few other random ingredients
• Wednesday Night
• Teenagers

What does that make?  Don't cheat...try to guess before looking down at the answer!




If you guessed egg rolls, sorry, but you're wrong.  Try again!




Ok, you probably got it this time!  I am teaching the youth group at Memorial Lutheran how to make Chinese Dumplings from scratch, served over rice!  This is a very exciting thing for me, as I LOVE to cook...especially foreign food!  In the process, I am going to be talking about my impending ministry in Macau (minus the negative connotation of the word impending...I can't think of a better word at the moment).  I am excited to share with them the joys of mission work, and the excitement that I have as I prepare for such a lifestyle!

Missionaries Needed!

Just now, I received a message from a missionary pastor in Hong Kong.  He said that there are 10 positions needing to be filled RIGHT NOW in Hong Kong!  There are also 16 in Slovakia, as well as a 5 in both Vietnam and South Africa. 


There are many different ways to serve, and one is to actually go!  If you would like to serve in this way,please contact LCMS World Mission: 


800-433-3954
mission.recruitment@lcms.org

Financial matters

I am currently 12% funded for Macau!  I have one more donation that is promised, but will not be in until the summer which brings my percentage to 18.6% funded.  Since I need to raise $27,045 all together, I still need to raise $15,690.50 before I can leave, and $22,004 before I am fully funded for this year.

As a reminder, this covers all the expenses that I will have over the next year: food, shelter, EFL materials, Bible Study materials, and more.  It covers insurance (medical and medical evacuation), visas, 2 one-way tickets, and the like.

I am thankful for my current partners,and am looking for more.  If you'd like to become a partner in my mission, visit this website.  You should see my picture and bio.  If not, search for Alissa Asmus in the search box.

On a slightly different note, I received word from some other missionaries who are in the same boat as me: they are excited to start their ministry in foreign countries starting this summer/fall.  Many of them will be at orientation with me, and I know that at least one other is going to Macau.

I also talked this morning with a good friend of mine from China.  I cannot wait to see her again.  She was one of my students when I was there over a year ago, and we became good friends!  Needless to say, we still keep in contact when possible!  I am excited to see her again, and also to make new friends!  I am excited to share the Joy that Christ gives me with the friends that I make there.  This particular friend was baptized soon after I was there because of the Holy Spirit's influence in her heart!  Thank God for the opportunities that He gives us to be a small part in His plan!

************

Update!  May 4, 9am

I just got a phone call that a friend's home church in Iowa donated $1,000...WOW!  Thank God for the generosity that people have shown--even those who have never met me before!  I guess that God knows where all the finances are coming from...I just don't know it yet!!  If you are from that church, and are visiting my blog, I would like to extend a sincere thank you!  You'll be receiving another in the mail as soon as LCMS processes the money and sends me a confirmation!

This brings me to 15.6% funded, and with the donation that I know is coming in during the summer, I am up to 22.3% funded!  WOW.  I now have only $21,004 left to go before I am fully funded!