In 1890 just outside Amsterdam in The Netherlands, August Van Ryn was born. At age 17, he immigrated to New York with his older brother Louis. Two years later, August headed to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he surrendered to a life of full time Gospel ministry.
In 1916, a missionary that served in the Bahamas came to Michigan for a visit. Robert Stewart Stratton traveled to the Bahamas a couple years before to preach the Gospel. Stratton met and married a local Bahamian Lilah Roberts, daughter of John Goodwin Roberts and Emma Marion Roberts of Marsh Harbour, Abaco.
Van Ryn and Stratton served together in Michigan for a few weeks and quickly developed a bond. After the Strattons returned to the Bahamas, he wrote a letter to Van Ryn to express the need of more missionaries to serve the scattered islands.
On December 31, 1916, August Van Ryn found himself in a small motor-driven boat heading from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas where he was welcomed by Robert and Lilah Stratton and their baby girl. They visited Nassau for a few days before they boarded a sailboat to Marsh Harbour, Abaco.
August Van Ryn also fell in love with Bahamian native Persis Roberts, who was the sister of Stratton’s wife Lilah. Even though, August only intended to stay in the Bahamas for couple months, his ministry in the islands lasted over thirteen years.
One of his amazing journal entries describes his experience at Marsh Harbour during the severe hurricane of October 1926.
The night before everything broke loose it was a lovely, balmy evening…So we went to bed, but were awakened around midnight by the roaring of the wind, when the violence began to smash the town. The velocity of the wind increased till it blew close to 200 miles an hour…Our house stood firm…as the gale increased that night it drove the heavy rain through the roof and in turn this soaked through the upstairs floor and into the rooms downstairs. I spent part of the night trying to dry things out a little. But the house stood.
Then, about 7 o’clock in the morning there fell a complete calm. It was a really eerie sensation-this perfect calm seconds after the raging wind…Our house stood close to the water-not to the ocean itself, but to inland waters with direct access to the ocean in the distance some five miles away. It was from there – from the Atlantic – that the tidal wave came and drove its furious course in till it reached our town…a solid wall of water about six feet high. It smashed against our house; drove in the front door and windows and broke away an addition to my house I had recently built.
Now the water stood about two or three feet high in our living room. It was too deep for us with our small children to remain there so we stood together on the stairs that led to the second floor. There we stood with our four little children, not knowing what to do; but we could and did pray…And then, in a few minutes more, the real tidal wave rolled in. We could hear its fearful roar before we could see it; it was a solid wall of water rising about twenty feet high. When my wife and I saw it bearing down on us and on our home, we kissed each other and I said to her, “Goodbye darling, we’ll see each other in the glory.”
The wave struck the house and smashed it to smithereens. I myself apparently went through the glass window on the stairway by which we stood, for my leg had great big cuts in it. The next thing I knew I came to my senses lying on a piece of wreckage. I had been knocked unconscious and had lost our dear baby. When I came to, I saw my wife in the raging waters further inland, with the three small children clinging to her and she to them.
This sensational experience left a deep impression on my wife and me, and as a result, has brought us rich spiritual blessing. When all you have on earth is taken from you in a few seconds; what use is it to set your heart and mind on things below? We deeply felt the sudden loss, of course, of our dear Pearl Eleanor, but God has blessed it all throughout the following years in so many ways. We shall see our darling baby again – in His presence.
The Van Ryns continued to serve in the islands for three more years. August Van Ryn and Robert Stratton had a 52-foot yacht named Evangel built for their ministry travel to the islands. The Evangel’s anchor held fast during the 1926 hurricane. The Evangel was said to be the only vessel that came through the storm without any damage.
August Van Ryn authored many Bible study books including his autobiography “Sixty Years In His Service.” In his latter years, fearful of losing his eyesight, he memorized the entire New Testament. This man and his ministry were both a tribute to his God and King.
My mother, Mizpah Russell Sawyer, spoke of this tidal wave, which she said carried some homes into the pine forest. Was 5his the same storm which then went on to make landfall in Miami with the loss of many lives?
Thanks for sharing! Not familiar with the impact on US soil.
Great story of Mission and Faith, Sent it to many friends, also on Facebook, 5 likes.
Thank you,
Donny
Sent from my iPad
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Thank you!
Love this Sad but true story. I was one, of many, Blessed to have this man in our home many times, hear this story in person, but more importantly, to be Blessed and Challenged by this Great Man’s Ministry of God’s Word. And…. He produced sons, Elliott N Carroll, who followed his footsteps. Wonderful Family. ❤️ #wouldnttradethosedaysforamillion$$
Would love to find additional photos of him and his family. If you have any connections, please let me know. You can email me at evandona@yahoo.com.
Thank you!
My late Uncle, August, was named after this blessed man.
My grandmother talked about this storm many times..said many persons died as it was unexpected..
This story went down in history.
My grand parents and parents talked of this often to us and passed on the story from Mr Van Ryn. I also knew his son Mr. Elliott Van Ryn and sat in church and listened to him preach the Gospel, he followed in his dad’s steps in ministry. Reading this just made me realize
that Robert Lucien Stratton and his wife (Lilah) met Mr. August Van Ryn in Nassau with their eldest daughter and it’s the Second daughter Astrid Stratton that this tidal wave of Dorian September 1st 2019 took away….it’s in the same location of front Street of Marsh Harbour Abaco, where Mr..Robert Lucien Stratton lived.