Memories of a Silver-Tongued Orator

I heard this morning about the death of Adin Troyer of Holmes County, Ohio.  He conducted meetings several times in our church, and I heard him preach elsewhere on a number of occasions.  As we often do at such a time, I recall some of the times when our paths crossed.  I'm sure these occasions were not memorable for him, and they are for me, mostly in retrospect.

The first time it happened, I was in third grade, and our family had traveled to Red Lake, Ontario, Canada.  Adin and his wife Leona were there too--on a visit, I think.  For some reason, my mom and some of my siblings and I rode "home" (wherever we were staying) with them after an evening event--Adin and Leona in the front seat and our family in the back.  On the way home, Adin recounted the story of his life as a wayward Amish boy in high school--very involved in sports, his conversion, and his changed life after that.  I still remember his resonant, oratorical voice in that encounter, a trademark characteristic that helped make his preaching moving and memorable for many years to come.

It must have been a few years later that he and his wife worked in Nebraska, and they visited here, with their baby Emmaline (spelling?), as I recall.  She was the first person I knew with that name.  He must have been drafted and served his mandatory two years in the service of the US government, while also serving as a volunteer in a Christian ministry, perhaps at a children's home.  If anyone knows for sure, feel free to fill in these details.

When I taught school near Sugarcreek, OH, I arrived in that community very shortly after a group had moved from the school's sponsoring church (Maranatha), to McConnelsville, in an outreach effort in southern Ohio.  Adin's family was among them.  The absence of all those people who had moved was still keenly felt, and the ties between Maranatha and Ebeneezer Fellowship near McConnelsville were strong.  People traveled back and forth a lot and I heard Adin speak a number of times during those years.  After Emmaline, all their children were boys, and I learned their names (and marveled, since many of those were also of the  first-time-I knew-someone-with-that-name variety).  I also learned to know Adin and Leona's relatives during that time--especially Leona's.  I got acquainted with five of Leona's sisters and her mother, and many, many nieces and nephews.  I didn't know Adin's family as well but remember one brother, Marvin, who lived near where I lived.  It must have been during these years that I heard John Martin describe Adin as a silver-tongued orator.  John was an able speaker himself, so his judgement carried more weight than mine would have.

One of Leona's nephews, Matthew, married my sister Clara.  He had been my student earlier, and I knew their family best of all Adin and Leona's relatives.

Adin and Leona eventually moved back to Holmes County, and at that time began to attend church at Messiah, where Leona's sister's family (Matthew's parents) attended.  As far as I know, this has been their home church since then.

After my dad was diagnosed with cancer in August 2012, he and Adin had talked on the phone frequently.  I heard from Dad that Adin was declining.  Several days ago, I read a blog post from a young man who had just gone to visit Adin, and I realized that he was likely very near the end of life.

Although my life will go on much as it always has, I grieve for Adin's family today and pray for them.  I also ask God to bless the lives of all the thousands of people who sat under Adin's preaching, who are pausing to remember it now, and who were influenced by it to live a God-honoring life.