He made a huge impact on our lives...

Clair:

My husband Larry and I heard him often talk about his precious family. We are just so honored to know all of you.

Please tell Dean, (We don't want to bother him at this time) but are so grateful for the times spent with him and Edna. We so appreciate the times he counseled Larry & I and our son Dan...what a ministry he had, and blessed us with his wisdom, and encouragement!!! He made a huge impact on our lives. We always loved the times he taught and also assisted Ben at the Spiritual Warfare classes on Sat morning.

Dean, I cannot begin to thank you and Praise the LORD for you enough, for all you did for our family!!! I look forward to seeing you & Edna in Heaven. THANK YOU!!!!! You fought the good fight, you finished the race........Praise be to the LORD!!!!!

With very much love,
Dar Sawyer

Clair---this finds my keyboard very wet as well....what a wonderful gentleman in every sense of the word. Thank you so much for this e-mail, we will be praying for you and the rest of the family during this hard time.

God Bless you and your sweet wife-
Love to you both,
Dar

-----Original Message-----
From: Clair Hochstetler
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2006 11:15 PM
To: (Group E-mail)
Subject: Alert regarding dad -- Dean Hochstetler (and notice of cutoff of this email address)

Family and friends:

You may already be well aware of this, but know that my father Dean's death is imminent, only six months after my mother Edna died (April 25.) Today he authorized the termination of this email account from the local internet access company when he wrote a final check to pay off the current bill plus the next one.

Any day now, even though still alert and with a fairly clear mind, his doctors expect him to go into a coma because his kidneys have, for the most part, stopped functioning and the numbers that measure his kidney function are at the level where this usually happens. My brother Verle and Dad's sister Mary Ellen, who both live about 5 miles away, have been alternating with his assisted living here at his home, for quite some time already, seeing Dad at least twice a day. But he also now has hospice care here at his home, as of Thursday this week. He has no pain whatsoever - just very aware that he is about to fade away from consciousness.

My brother Lee is on his way from North Carolina with his family as we speak. So is Dad's brother Alan, driving in from Virginia. He has been calling his grandchildren to say goodbye and says he knows his time on this earth is rapidly drawing to a close. Other friends are beginning to drop by for a bit to offer their affirmation and farewells.

This evening there was a special service in his home when we ritualized a transfer like "the mantle of Elijah" - the leadership of his special counseling and deliverance ministry he pioneered in this area - to Ben and Angela Snyder. A similar ceremony for Delora Reinhart, a partner in his effort to provide continuity of leadership for the future, occurred earlier this afternoon. It was also attended by almost all "the original twelve" in an interdenominational group Dad has been teaching and mentoring for the past decade, plus some leaders from the Yellow Creek Mennonite Church. It was such a blessing to witness this - still able to compose his thoughts, read, and speak, and even sing a little bit! Dad transfered his unique library, about a thousand volumes, together with many other papers he authored over the years and recently sorted through, into Ben's hands yesterday. He read from scripture tonight quoting the Apostle Paul that "I have run the race...I have finished the course..." (I have it all on video.)

He told me the middle of this week that he his laying his life down now with absolutely no regrets, plenty of good memories, and with great hope and anticipation for the future. He is dying content, with no further expectations, knowing that he has fulfilled everything that God called him to do, and really looking forward to joining Edna and his son Donald, his mother and father, and a host of others who look forward to his joining "the great cloud of witnesses."

You can probably just hear him saying what he told Verle a few days ago, when asked what it feels like to be dying: "Well, yesterday I plowed, today I'm working the ground, and quite soon I'm going to plant."

If you have any further messages to send to Dean, in the next day or so, you may either send them to his sisters Miriam and Mary Ellen, via meh1934@bnin.net or me at Clair.Hochstetler@gmail.com, or you may try to call him at home at 574-773-4915. One of us will be there with him all the time.

With gratefulness for your friendship and support of dad -- and a fairly wet keyboard at my end this evening...

Clair Hochstetler