Dave Hunt has been the single greatest influence on my life of all men I have known.

I met Dave in September, 1974, in Northridge, CA. I was 22 years old and not a Christian. As anyone will attest who has, as an unbeliever, encountered Dave in conversation, he had a way of gently but surely bringing any conversation around to the most important of topics. I was brought up in a set of beliefs that derived from Hinduism, Buddhism, and the occult— collectively what would be called New Age religion. At the time we met, Dave was working with Rabi Maharaj on Death Of A Guru, and was well prepared for all my arguments. Dave was very patient with me, and I enjoyed talking with him, so at the invitation of his daughter Karen, I joined a weekly Bible study with other college students at his home. Rabi came to visit and work with Dave and I spent some time discussing spiritual matters with him. The months passed, and I learned much about the Bible, the prophecies and their fulfillment, the teachings of Jesus, the true source of the ideas that underlay my own mystical beliefs, but something was missing. I had knowledge of the Gospel, but I was not responding. One evening in January 1975, after a Bible study at the Hunt home, I found myself confronted internally with the fact that I knew that Jesus was Lord, that all my beliefs had been rebellion, and that I needed to repent and tell Him from my heart that I believed in Him. As everyone around me mingled and chatted, I was frozen in my seat, eyes closed, caught in a personal confrontation with the Truth. I then walked outside, stood alone under the night sky and confessed my faith to God. At a later time I told Dave that I believed. He gave me a hug and said, "Praise the Lord brother!" In the years that followed Dave and I grew closer. Dave invited me to accompany him and his son Jon on my first of many backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains, where he taught me to fish, shared scripture and hymns, and many a good laugh around the campfire. His son Jon and I still return often to our favorite of all places we discovered with his father, 11,000 ft. Crabtree Lake. Whenever I sing How Great Thou Art, I am reminded of Dave, for that was his favorite on the trail. When through the woods And forest glades I wander I hear the birds Sing sweetly in the trees; When I look down From lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook And feel the gentle breeze; Then sings my soul My Savior, God, to Thee How great thou art How great thou art. In January of 1979 Dave introduced me to Susan Lane. Susan I were married in September in the same little Faith Bible Church I first attended with Dave and Ruth and the Hunt family in 1974. Susan came on several pack trips with us, and Dave helped her pick out a new fishing rod for my birthday. Susan became fast friends with Dave's daughters Karen and Janna. All these things—friends, fellowship, a marriage of 33 years, and most of all the Gospel— are the things that God brought into my life, and Susan's, through His faithful servant, Dave Hunt. When Jon shared with me today the news of his passing, I felt both the loss of this dear man and the joy of knowing that Dave is with the Lord. Knowing that he is there, I am all the more looking forward to the day when I too will be called to heaven, where I can once more walk with Dave and ponder the glory of God's creation.