April
2017
888-THE LCMS www.lcms.org infocenter@lcms.org
News from the Ahlmans serving the Lord in Germany
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead
will be raised imperishable, and we shall
be changed. For this perishable body
must put on the imperishable, and this
mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the
imperishable, and the mortal puts on
immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying that is written:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory? O death,
where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 15.52b-58 ESV
Satan, I defy thee;
Death, I now decry thee;
Fear, I bid thee cease.
World, thou shalt not harm me
Nor thy thoughts alarm me
While I sing of peace.
Gods great powr Guards evry hour;
Earth and all its depths adore Him,
Silent bow before Him.
Jesus, Priceless Treasure,
Lutheran Service Book #462, stz. 3
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Christopher.Ahlman@lcmsintl.org; Elizabeth.Ahlman@lcmsintl.org
Was sucht ihr den Lebenden bei den Toten? Er ist nicht hier, er ist auferstanden.
(Lutherbibel 1984)
Why do you seek the ones who are living among the ones who are dead? He is
not here; [H]e is risen. (personal translation)
Luke 24.5-6
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is many things, to be sure. But make no
mistake, one of those thingsor, rather, all of those things taken togetheris
defiance.
Sure, it is a defiance of the perennial foes: death, which the resurrection has
rendered as a defeated enemy; the sinful condition, of which death is symptom,
sign, and consequence; the devil himself who, along with his works and ways,
remains locked in and is destined for an eternal death. But there are also other
targets and recipients of defiance that only the resurrection can bring:
the belief that dying and going to heaven is the Christians ultimate
goal (its not; the resurrection on the last day is);
the belief that the things of this creation do not matter in the
Christian life (quite the opposite, in truth; the resurrection itself is
proof of that)
the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus inevitably brings us forward to
the resurrection (when, in actuality, the exact opposite occurs; it is the
resurrection that, in word and deed, not only brings us back to the
crucifixion but also brings the crucifixion forward to usto the point
where we die with Christ and live in hope, where we are consoled with
the proclamation that [H]e died for us, where we eat and drink his
body and blood and thus proclaim [H]is death until [H]e comes.
My friends, for our own sakes, we need this defiance every single day of our
lives. Thanks be to God that, in the resurrection reality that will never go away,
we have this defiance that will bring us to nothing else than glory everlasting.
Blessed is he who hears the voice of creation admonishing him
Johann Gerhard, Commonplace VIII 85
Benjamin T. G. Mayes and Joshua J. Hayes, eds., Theological Commomplaces:
Johann Gerhard, VIII-XI, trans. Richard J. Dinda (St. Louis: Concordia, 2013), 42.
 Zuknftige russische Prediger, Teil 2
My faithful and superlative translator Aleksei and I were in Koltushi at the
Theological Institute to begin and complete the first part of the 2 nd 2nd-year
preaching course, devoted to preaching in times of grief and in times and joy.
Thus, the seminars were devoted specifically to these two themes. It was rather
well-received and yet, as is usually the case, youre preparing to preach to a
A recent Mommy-Thomas date.
situation of which you have little experience in terms of pastoral response. But,
thats essentially seminary education, getting your feet wet in order to learn
further as you go. Gauging my previous work with this group of students, I
anticipate that theyll exceed my expectations this month with sermon
composition, delivery, and critique.

Ill also be wrapping up left-over items from the Hermeneutics course from
January-February.

Reformations Stck
It was my privilege last September to receive an invitation to give a lecture on
the Augsburg Confession and its Apology as part of a series of lectures on the
Lutheran Confessions, itself an initiative among interested German State
Church people to renew appreciation for a clear and unapologetic confession
of Christ Jesus and his Gospel at the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. I
gave the lecture entitled Calvary Delivered this past 23 March auf Deutsch at
Nathanaelskirche in Leipzig. It went rather well, and was appreciated a great
deal.

Elizabeths Ecke
I am embarking on my final months as communication specialist, and so most
of my time is devoted to last things such as preparing all forms and
documents, handing the work over temporarily to Deaconess Dr. Jennie Asher
until Rev. Craig and Paula Donofrio are able to deploy, organizing the
computer which belongs to the regions communication specialist, etc. My
hope is to have many things organized and prepared so that if there is an
interim between the birth of our child with my accompanying resignation and
Pastor Donofrios arrival on the field, there wont be complete radio silence on
our Eurasia Blog or our Eurasia Facebook page. Please continue to support our
whole region by following the blog and liking the Facebook page.

As we transition from the field, we have to take the babys due date (June 23)
into account. Therefore, my brother will arrive in Germany on April 27 in
order to accompany Matthias, Helene and me back to the States on the 28th.
We will be staying with Chris parents in Lincoln, NE where our pediatrician
is still located, and where my OB will be delivering baby #4 (she delivered
Matthias before we moved to Germany, and am really happy that we will again
be in her care). In the meantime, Chris and Thomas will tie up all loose ends
in Germany, including preparing to ship many of our household goods, and
finishing out most of the end of the school year for Thomas. Chris will also be
lecturing at a Reformation celebration in Prague in May. They will join us in
the States on June 10th, hopefully well before Baby arrives.

Let Us Pray . . .
In thanksgiving for the
proclamation of the Gospel,
near and far
For Gods continued
preservation and
enhancement of lawful
government throughout the
world
For Easter triumph, Easter
joy throughout the world
For continued blessing upon
our work in Russia
For continued guidance for
and blessing upon the
Lukaskirche project in Leipzig,
especially its catechetical work
with migrants and asylum-
seekers
Church of the Winter Palace,
St. Petersburg, Russia
Giving Thanks
We give thanks to God for His many good gifts to us during our four years
here, including friendships, experiences, challenges, growth, new languages,
additional children, and many opportunities to share the Gospel and live a life
which hopefully demonstrated thankfulness and openness to Gods gift of
children and family.
We also give thanks to and for all of you who have so generously supported us
through your prayers, monetary gifts, emails, packages, cards, and so much
more. What a privilege it has been for us to see and meet so many of Gods
people and mark how they work together, yet in unique ways, to serve Him
and His Church within their vocations and with their gifts of time, talent, and
financial aid. It has been such an encouragement to see Gods faithful people
lead such generous, open lives, with a zeal for others to have the proclamation
of the same Gospel which binds us together across miles and generations. You
are all very much appreciated, and we are thankful for your continued support
throughout this transition time. We hope that you will prayerfully consider
continuing to support the proclamation of the Gospel through the Office of
International Mission of the LCMS and her missionaries and projects.
Throughout this time of transition, we will continue to send newsletter
updates, and keep you abreast of the work that continues even as we prepare
to move back to the US. Thank you again for all you have done and continue
to do for the mission work of the LCMS.
May God in Christ through the Spirit bless you now and forever.
To support the LCMS through the work of the Ahlmans, you may send a tax-
deductible gift to:
The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod Mission Central
P.O. Box 66861 OR 40718 Highway E 16
St. Louis, MO 63166-6861 Mapleton, IA 51034
Make checks payable to The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod or LCMS. Include
Ahlman-Germany in the memo line. Gifts can also be given securely online through
the LCMS website at www.lcms.org/ahlman.