We now come to the last field of labor which the blessed Keyl cultivated with God's Word. Here he was only allowed to work for a short time; then the Lord said to him: It is enough! and he had to lay down his shepherd's staff. But even at this last station his work was not without blessing, even though he could only work with the remains of his already broken strength. So let us get to know the last place of his activity a little better. Even if we do not have much to report from there, we would like to pass by it all the less with silence, since Schreiber is so fortunate to have become acquainted with Keyl's last sphere of activity thirty years ago from his own experience during a longer stay there; on this occasion he experienced much love and kindness from several families, and also had the honor of testifying of Christ in several sermons to the congregation there.
The little town of Willshire, in the State of Ohio, is about thirty miles from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and four miles farther north we find a German settlement, whose present post-office bears the name of Schumm. There, many years ago, lived several brothers named Schumm with their families, who were among the first settlers of that region, were very respectable people, and in whom the most praiseworthy thing was that they loved God's word and that they sought first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. As far as we know, none of the brothers are still alive, but some of their descendants still live in that region. Two of their descendants serve the Lutheran church within the Missouri Synod, one in the preaching ministry and the other in the school ministry. This settlement used to be part of the large mission field which the blessed Pastor Wyneken cultivated when he still lived in Fort Wayne. At that time, the Schumm brothers and several other families with them founded the Evangelical Lutheran Zion congregation near Willshire, which is one of the oldest congregations in our synodal association. Its first settled preacher was the blessed Pastor J. G. Burger, who was installed there on July 12, 1846, but who died a blessed death on March 17, 1847, after having faithfully served in the preaching ministry for five years. After him, the blessed Pastor Streckfuß served the congregation for a time, and after his departure, Pastors Werfelmann and Kühn.
The latter's successor was our blessed Keyl, who was installed there on the 18th Sunday after Trinity, September 26, 1869, by Dr. Sihler with the assistance of the blessed Pastor Östermeyer. When he took over, the congregation had only about thirty members with voting rights, but was strong through unity and built itself up in peace. So it was indeed a suitable field of work for an already aged servant of the Lord, who had already spent his best energies in the service of God's house, but who still wanted to serve with the last remnants of his strength. But whether it was nevertheless wise - humanly speaking - to let dear Keyl be called there, and for his part to follow the call, we will leave that to be seen. At first, despite his already very noticeable physical weakness, he was still able to perform his duties adequately, even though he often did more than his strength allowed and he was actually supposed to do. Of course, he could not preside over the school, which was taken care of by his daughter Martha, who also helped and served her father in other matters as far as she was able. The congregation therefore had nothing to complain about because they were provided with church and school, and apart from that they were on good terms with their pastor, showed him all love and respect and he worked among them in blessing.
But his activity could no longer be of long duration; his already broken strength must finally succumb completely to the constant overexertion, and he had to resign himself to the inevitable and withdraw from the scene of his activity. One could see how his strength dwindled from day to day. On top of this, he was very ill with gout. His right hand was so shaky that he could hardly write a legible letter. For this reason he was unable to answer the many letters of comfort he received from friends. He often had to be taken to church. His mind was still very active, but his frail body no longer wanted to obey the spirit. His voice became weaker and weaker, so that finally older people could no longer understand him, even though the church was not large. Yes, he had tired himself out on the chariot of God and now had to let himself be unhitched, however sad it made his heart, for he realized that he could no longer do it. Good friends also advised him to retire now. In particular, it was Dr. Walther, his dearest friend and brother-in-law, who sent him a letter of consolation, exhorting him to lay down his shepherd's crook and calling out to him: "It's enough!" He also promised him, if it pleased God, that he would visit him in the near future. So in the late autumn of 1871, in the presence of Dr. Walther, who had fulfilled his promise to visit him, our dear Keyl voluntarily resigned his office at the Zion congregation near Willshire, after having administered it there for a little over two years, and after having served in the vineyard of the Lord with all faithfulness and with the sacrifice of all his strength for over forty-two years.
After his resignation, Keyl remained in his community for a while because the question of where he should take up residence from then on had to be decided first. On the advice of his friends, he chose Monroe, Michigan. Here he had a modest home built for himself, where he lived out his last days and blessedly completed his course in this world. The widowed pastor still lives there with her as yet unmarried children, where she leads a quiet life in all godliness and respectability. May the Lord also remember her in the best way! May He be her help and comfort in all distress, and do not let her fall away from the true comfort of faith. But one day, when her earthly house of this hut breaks down, may the LORD send her to the eternal dwellings of peace, where she will then be with the LORD at all times with her blessedly departed husband.