A visit we made early in September has profoundly impacted our vision of the upcoming missionary service in Sri Lanka.

Saint Paul's Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa, is a special congregation. For the last ten years, God has blessed their efforts as they developed a music conservatory, which grew from just a few students to over a hundred with twelve faculty. God is using the community’s need for music education as an opportunity for young people and their families to enter His house, hear the good news about Jesus and come to saving faith and the waters of Holy Baptism.

Seeing the conservatory and speaking with Pastor Sherrill and Pastor Frank, we were encouraged and renewed in our minds concerning the importance of our coming work in Sri Lanka. It’s never just about the music. The music serves the gospel.

The Holy Spirit uses music to send God’s word into human hearts where, by His grace, it takes root and flourishes. We look forward to sharing in these gifts with the saints in Sri Lanka soon!

Preparing for Deployment

We have the green light! This means God has provided the funds needed for us to deploy to the field. We’ll be in Colorado from now until we deploy, God willing, in November. Please pray that God would give speed to the visa process and bring us to Sri Lanka at the proper time.

We’re thankful for some time back home in Colorado. The other night we got to see Larson’s newest cousin, Josie, along with all of his other cousins, too! We will be seeing two of those cousins again in October when we visit Faith Lutheran in Carbondale, Colorado, to give a presentation. Their father, Joshua, is the new pastor at Faith.

In the last month, we’ve visited many of our wonderful Lutheran schools in Missouri and Kansas. The kids are smart and quick, but most importantly, they’re full of the joy of the gospel and they know where their hope lies. Thanks be to God for teachers and parents who raise up these children in the faith!

Vicar Benjamin and Grace Vanderhyde serve the Lord through The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) as missionaries in Sri Lanka. In his role as vicar, Benjamin trains up musicians to serve the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church while assisting the other LCMS missionaries serving in Sri Lanka with their work and learning from them. You can read more about the Vanderhydes at www.lcms.org/vanderhyde.