8.29.16 Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ, or not?

Hello y'all! It was a busy week filled with miracles as always! We are so blessed!! We had so many lessons and met some wonderful people. A couple super cool things that happened this week... As you know we have been teaching Kieren for quite some time and she is still doing great! We had a lesson with her on Monday and her parents came down to eat cake with us for my birthday. They are never home and the family is always busy doing their own things when we are over. But this time they stayed for the lesson! It was so awesome and we were able to have a really good discussion with them. We talked about families and answered their questions. They are coming to church next week and we are so excited! Such a cool tender mercy!

Michael, who I talked about last week is doing wonderful! We had an awesome lesson with him this week and the spirit was so strong. He read from the BoM all on his own! He is really starting to get it all and his faith is growing so much. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted the day of October 1st. We are so excited! He came to church again this week and loved it! We also had an amazing lesson with Jarree. She was really progressing but kinda fell off for a bit. We were able to see her on Saturday and she had some experiences that made he think again. She is ready to commit and knows this is what she wants to do. Everything happens for a reason! We got some awesome referrals and met some golden people this week. I'm anxious to see how things go when we start to meet with them this week. It is amazing how the lord is always preparing people and placing them in our paths.

The trio has been awesome and we are having so much fun! Getting to know Sister Housel as been great and she is such a wonderful missionary. She has so many great ideas to help those we are working with and is an amazing teaching. She is such a great example to me and I've learned so much from her already.

Spiritual thought.. Are you a disciple of Christ or not? We had the most amazing sacrament meeting and this thought really stuck out to me. We are here to become like him which means we will go through hard things. Just as he did. If life is easy for you it means you are doing it wrong. Think of the apostles, did they ever go fishing on a quiet pleasant day? No, but when the storms did come and the waves crashed they knew where to turn and that was to Christ. He was either on the boat with them or he came to them. Turn to him. He knows how to help us. He knows and loves us individually. He can make more of our lives then we ever can by ourselves.

"Some blessings come soon. Some don't come until heaven. But for those who trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ they do come."  I know this gospel is true and It changes lives! Jesus Christ is our savior and he lives. This is his church that has been restored through his power back to the earth again! The Book of Mormon and Bible are both testaments of him! I promise you will get closer to him by reading them. Whatever you are going through he knows. He experienced it. It will all be alright in the end. If it is not alright then it is not the end! Keep pushing through! Keep believing and keep trying! Love y'all so much! Have a blessed week!

Love, Sister Hosman❤️🍑

The Trio! 

A member took the whole zone to a really nice restaurant.  Someone did this for him when he was on his mission, so he wanted  to do the same!

8.22.16 Goodbye to the teenage years🍑

Hey y'all! Another great week here in Georgia! Thank y'all so much for the birthday packages, cards and emails! I was overwhelmed with love and feel so blessed!

One of the miracles of our week was Michael. Michael was a bible referral when I first came to this area. We went to deliver his bible taught him a few lessons but it wasn't really going anywhere. The spirit was so strong in the lessons but he just wasn't ready. We didn't make him a top priority and when we became a trio and things got crazy his name got a little lost. Well, he reached out to us and we decided to go visit him. We retaught him the restoration and it was like teaching a different person! The same strong spirit was there, but he was ready this time. He accepted the challenge to read the BoM and even came to church. It was so amazing! I know it's the Lord's work and it is all done in his timing. It was incredible to see how Heavenly Father had been working on him and preparing his heart for the gospel. He has already changed so much and is so happy!

I had an awesome birthday week filled with laughs and love. On Friday night we decided to try to go see a formal investigator named Tavis we had seen driving earlier that day. She was so happy to see us and we had an awesome lesson with her. Again someone who we hadn't seen in a long time and at that point wasn't quite ready but Heavenly Father has been preparing. She is now reading from the BoM and is really starting to progress. There was a little birthday drama when we thought Sister Stauffer was going to be sent home. She was feeling pretty sick again but they got it worked out and she is still here! Wahoo! However we did have an emergency transfer and are now in a trio! Sister Housel is our new comp and she is from Kamas Utah. She has been out 7 months and is super sweet! We are excited to get to know her better! Thanks again for all your love and support! I feel your prayers everyday. I love y'all so much and you are in my prayers! Don't forget to read and pray this week! Xoxo

Love, Sister Hosman❤️🍑

This cute girl in the ward named Ava made me my first cake!

Birthday celebration with the Cato Family 

Makayla Buckner made this darling cake!

Love this Georgia Peach!

2 0 !!!

Jocelyn came to visit for her birthday!

At the mission office for Emergency transfers and got to see Sister Blair, she's going home in a couple weeks!

8.15.16 The Spirit of God, like Georgia is burning!!

Hi y'all!! It's been a wonderful week here in Georgia! Somedays it even got a little cooler at least in temperature or maybe I'm just getting used to it! It is so hot here y'all!

Tuesday we had a great zone meeting! The spirit is always so strong and I learn so much. I loved Elder Joseph's training, he talked about bearing testimony and the power in it. We should be bearing our testimony like "a dying missionary!" Like we don't know if we will see these people tomorrow but we want them to know what we know. Not just believe but truly know. No one can argue with a sincere heartfelt testimony. Sometimes I think we overthink it and worry about how to word it but when we open our mouths the spirit will lead us. I have truly seen this on my mission and my testimony grows more each day. There was a new rule for the Athens Zone announced but it's a pretty exciting one. We are now allowed to go to the temple with our recent converts and watch them do baptisms for the dead their first time. So amazing and I'm so excited to be able to be there for such a special occasion! After zone meeting we went to see one of our less actives just to check up on her. While we started talking to her we realized she was chewing Tabacco! We invited her to spit it out right then and there. She thought about it but was a little reluctant because it was helping with her stomach. We asked if she would receive a priesthood blessing and stop right then and there for good. She said yes and it was so cool! It was an amazing experience and I know she has been and will continue to be so blessed for her faith. When we went to see her a couple days later she was happier then ever and doing great. I'm so proud of her!

Wednesday morning we got to go to AA with one of our investigators. It was a really cool experience and I learned lots. I'm so grateful for the Word of Wisdom and the knowledge that we have. We had our last lesson with Julie that afternoon and it was so sad. She is moving to South Carolina but we are so excited for her. I know there are missionaries there waiting for her and I can't sit to see her continue to grow. I'm so grateful for the chance I had to meet her. She had an incredible testimony and so much faith. It is only going to grow from here. She was so happy and definitely not the same person I met a couple weeks ago on the side of the road. The gospel is incredible and it truly changes lives.

Thursday we started volunteering at the FISH thrift store in Loganville. Such a great program and it was a lot of fun! That afternoon we had a great lesson with Janelle and taught her the plan of salvation. She loved it and is loving the BoM as well. The spirit was really strong and we were able to help her understand that she had received her answer to know if the BoM was true. We invited her to be baptized on September 17th and she said yes!

This weekend was crazy and we had lots of lessons. I also got to help Sister Stone make lots of cupcakes for a wedding she was catering! We had an awesome lesson with Henry who is a 9/11 firefighter survivor. We were teaching him pretty regularly but when he got a new job we didn't see him for awhile. We went over the plan of salvation with him and it was so great! The spirit was so strong and at one point he stopped us to say " I absolutely love when y'all come! I just feel so good!" We were able to teach him about the spirit and that he was testifying of truth. Henry came to church yesterday and loved it. We were a little nervous when the Sunday school topic was the Word of Wisdom but he asked great questions and it ended up being awesome. He had already started working on quitting some of his issues. I know Heavenly Father is always working on our investigators even when we aren't teaching them. Austin was also able to come to church and really enjoyed it! Sunday night we went to check on Kenny because he has been really sick this week. Luckily he was feeling better and was so excited to tell us about his cool experience with prayer. That he wasn't feeling well but when he prayed he felt so much better! It was so cool and amazing to see how much he has grown.

I love this gospel with all my heart! I feel so blessed to be a missionary and do the lords work. I know this church is true and I'm so grateful for it in my life. I'm so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and the wonderful gift of the atonement. I'm so grateful for the Restoration and our living day prophet and apostles. I know they are men truly called of God and will never lead us astray. I love the BoM and know it can change your life. I'm so thankful for each of you and love you so much! Have a blessed week! :) Love, Sister Hosman ❤️🍑

Love this Sister to pieces🍑

Bye bye Julie, we will miss you!💗

Zone Meeting - Bull Dawg Nation!

We were so excited that they had fry sauce!

8.8.16 Pneumonia = many companions

Hi y'all! It was a bit of a crazy week but a great one. We found out Monday that Sister Stauffer has walking pneumonia. She was put on bed rest but I was instructed to go out with different Ward members and continue to teach. I had lots of different companions this week and we saw so many miracles!

Tuesday morning we had to go to the doctors. Sister Stauffer has had a cold but her cough had been getting worse and so we went to get it checked out. They took some X-rays and told her she had walking pneumonia! Not good at all! Then we went to district meeting and had interviews with President Bennion. I gave a training on how to help our investigators recognize the spirit. We have a lot of new missionaries in our district who had a lot of great insight. It was awesome! After the meeting and interviews we went to dinner with Sister Stone. That night we had an awesome lesson with Jarree who is an investigator in Loganville. Her husband is a member and she is so sweet. We talked with her about fasting and also her baptism. She is on date to be baptized on the 13th but starting to feel a little nervous. We made a plan to all fast together. It was a great lesson!

Wednesday morning was a little crazy! Sister Stauffer was super sick so a member stayed here with her while I went out with another member and taught lessons. We stopped by the t-shirt shop and helped Debi for a bit and then shared a message with her. Then we had a great lesson with Tavaris. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well. He shared a lot of cool experiences with us and has such a strong testimony. After that we went to meet a referral named Janelle. She was so sweet and loved the Restoration. We taught her how to pray and the spirit was so strong. She said she knew it was true and was excited to read from the BoM. Sister Stauffer joined me and we went to teach Katie. (Kierens twin sister) We taught her the PoS and answered more of her questions. She loved and said it made so much sense. They were answers she had been searching for for a long time. She is so humble and teachable, it's amazing. That night we had correlation and Kenny had his baptismal interview.

Thursday Sister Christensen came down from UGA and we were companions for the day. Oh my goodness y'all! She is so incredible and such an amazing missionary. She is such a fantastic teacher and has such a strong testimony. Her love for the Lord and the work show through her loving smile. It was a terrific day! We had the most wonderful lesson with Julie. Sister Carter came with us and it was so amazing. The spirit was so strong and it was one of the very best of my mission. Teaching with Sister Christensen was such a cool experience. We taught Julie about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she loved it. I feel like usually the most spirit filled lessons are when we teach the Restoration or Plan of Salvation but this was with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was awesome. Julie was so into it and asked such great questions. She was so happy to hear that the Savior will forgive us as many times as we repent. She couldn't stop smiling and we were all crying at one point or another. She said her very first verbal prayer and just said how warm she felt inside. Starting our day off like that was wonderful. That afternoon we did some service for Sister Canchola and sang her a song. Then we taught the Bureau family and it went well! That night we had an awesome lesson with Adam and Andrea. We read Mormon 9 because that is where the spirit led us and we all got something out of it. I love the BoM!

Friday we did weekly planning which was great! Then we went to visit Katie and taught her the Restoration. She is doing so well and has changed so much even in these last couple weeks. She asked great questions and always is just so ready to learn. That night Sister Stone came out with me which was so fun! She has been an amazing companion to me these past few days! We had a great lesson with Tommy and then an awesome last lesson with Kenny before he was baptized. We watched The Hope Of Gods Light and talked about how God needs him on his side. He is so strong and I'm so proud of him. I feel so blessed to have been able to teach him and watch him progress since day one. After that we went to see Myra and met her sweet son Josh. He is deaf and I was able to sign with him for a bit which was so cool. We showed Myra the Mountains to Climb video and she loved it. It brought her a lot of peace and comfort. It was an awesome day!

The highlight of Saturday was definitely Kenny's baptism. The spirit was so strong and he was so happy. Most of the priests came to see him and it was so awesome to see so much love and support. The talks were amazing and the bishop gave him some incredible advice. For a 17 year old who is the only member of his family. Brother Stratford talked about how it's cool to be good! Something is cool because it's hard to do. Just like the olympics everyone loves to watch it because they are doing things that not everyone can do. They are hard. Being good is not easy therefore it is cool because not everyone can do it. Then the bishop talked about how important it is so stand in holy places and not just physically. It was an awesome meeting.

Sunday we had a spectacular testimony meeting. We also had a wonderful Sunday school class and Relief Society lesson. The spirit was so strong and I felt so renewed. We talked lots about service and not giving up! I kept thinking about the Mormon message called My Burden was made light and I didn't know why. We were going to see the Muehlheauser's and weren't sure what to share so we decided to share it. I'm so glad! It was just what they needed to hear and the spirit was so strong! I'm so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and those little inspired thoughts that come to our head. That night we went to the Carter's and had dinner with the Polston Family. The home teachers came by and we had an awesome discussion on eternal marriage and families. I was able to learn so much and it was really neat. Dinner went so well and the Polstons had so much fun! I made some cookies while Sister Stauffer rested and then we went and delivered them. We stopped by Sister Noyes (Jeremiah's mom) and she is getting surgery on Tuesday. Please keep her in your prayers. Then we went to see Kieren and it was so good to finally see her. She has been sick and going through a hard time. She was doing so well but fell into a bit of a rough patch and wouldn't see us. We just showed our love to her and said no matter what we would always love her. That we know falling is part of life and we were here for her. That we would rather her talk to us and let us help then just hide from us. On the way home I just realized how this is how our Savior and Heavenly Father feel. They will always love us no matter what and would rather us talk to them and ask for help then hide. It's crazy to me to try to even imagine the love that they have for us. I'm so grateful for this time I have to be a missionary and just feel a piece of that love. To be able to see a little peek of the potential they have. I know the atonement is real. It covers everything for everyone and I'm so grateful for it. My testimony grows of it everyday. I know Heavenly Father loves you and that whatever you may be going through it will get better. He has a plan for you! I love y'all so much! Have a blessed week!

Xoxo Love, Sister Hosman

Pictures from Kenny's baptism 8.6.16

8.1.16 Just when I thought it couldn't get no hotter!

Hey y'all!! First of all, Welcome Home Elder Mack!! I'm so proud of you and know you blessed so many lives in Madagascar!

How is it August already?? I really didn't think it could get any hotter or I could sweat anymore but then came August! It is going to be one hot month here! Haha

It was a good week here with lots to do! We are a bit overwhelmed and still trying to figure out how exactly to take over the whole county! There are so many wonderful people here and I just love them all. I don't have much time here but wanted to give a little update on a few of them!(:

Kenny is doing so amazing! He showed up to church yesterday in a white shirt and tie, he looked so great! We had a wonderful lesson with him after church and he has changed so much. We have been teaching him for a couple months now and he will be baptized on Saturday! I am so proud of him and the wonderful guy is becoming.

The Polston family is still doing great. We had a delicious dinner with them on Thursday and a very powerful lesson. We watched the patterns of light video series and talked about the different ways God answers our prayers. Finley still wants to be baptized and went to scout camp with the boys this weekend! So cool! We are fasting with their family on Sunday in search for Nikki's answers. The kids are a little nervous to fast but I know it will be an incredible experience for everyone. The power of fasting is real and I have seen so many miracles from it in my life and the lives of those around me. 

Kieren is doing great! We were finally able to meet her twin sister named Katie this week. She is in jail and Kieren has been asking us to go visit her for months. I was a bit nervous at first but it was such a cool experience! We were able to answer her questions and the spirit was so strong. She is so prepared and has the strongest desire to change. She is so much like Kieren with the same amazing personality and laugh! I love her so much already and am excited to watch her grow. We are currently trying to figure out some way to sneak her a BoM!(; haha

Charles came to church yesterday and loved it! He is still reading and praying this everyday and doing great! He still feels unsure that he is ready for baptism but I know when the time is right he will be. Keep him in your prayers!(:

Julie is the one we met a couple weeks ago on the side of the road because she ran out of gas. She is so humble and very prepared. We taught her the Plan of Salvation last night and it went so well. She is very into it and the spirit was so strong. When we asked her if she had a chance to read from the BoM yet she said yes and opened her book mark to the book of Omni! I had to blink a couple times and couldn't believe it! At the end of the lesson she told us she is moving to a different county in the next couple weeks. I was so sad but I know that the missionaries in that area are there for a reason. It has been so incredible for me to teach people I knew I was meant to teach here in Georgia. I hope she will have the same experience with the missionaries there and will continue to progress!

We also did lots of service this week! It was the last week of FISH for kids which made me so sad! We went several times this week and had lots of fun. It had been so humbling to be able to help so many sweet kids! They made almost 2000 lunches everyday this summer. How cool is that? We were also able to meet some really cool people. It was so powerful to come together with all different faiths and help the community! We are looking forward to a busy week with lots to do! Thank you so much for you're love and support. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you. Serving a mission is the best decision I've ever made and I am loving it more everyday. I hope all is well for you and your family! You are in my thoughts and prayers. Have a blessed week and stay peachy! :)

 Love, Sister Hosman

Sweet Sister Merritt! This was a hard goodbye on Tuesday! Even though we were only companions for a couple weeks I felt like we have been companions for the whole time we served in the Monroe Ward together. She is an incredible missionary and I learned so much from her. We became great friends and I will miss her dearly. She has such a light about her and was a great example to me. 

7.25.16 The only constant in life...

Hi y'all! This week was awesome and very busy! We are exhausted but happy as ever. I don't have a lot of time but here is a highlight for each day...

Monday night we had an amazing lesson with Myra. She was someone we met last week while we were tracting. We were able to see her again tonight and teach her the Restoration. The spirit was so strong and she loved it. As I quoted the first vision her eyes got big and after she said she got chills. At the end of the lesson when we asked her to pray to know if it was true she said no because she already knew that it was true. She was so excited to read the BoM. It was so awesome!

Tuesday we had a great District meeting. We role played and talked about The Saviors Peace and Blessing. It is a new finding tool that works miracles! When you meet new people you ask if you can come in and give a blessing on their home and family as representatives of Jesus Christ. We were able to use it that day in a lesson and we got two new investigators out of it! We were busy all day with a lot of lessons but they were great! I feel so blessed to be in such a wonderful area. That night we had a really cool lesson with Kieren and Marcus. We decided to reenact the tree of life story in her back yard. They loved it and it really helped them both understand the scriptures and apply it to their own lives. Kieren is still doing great and going strong! We are so proud of her. When we got home we got a call that we were pregnant. We were going to be training and so excited! Sister Merritt would go back to Loganville and train and then Sister Stauffer and I would trio train in Monroe.

Wednesday we had a fantastic lesson with our new investigator Julie. Julie is homeless and lives in her car in a park in downtown Monroe. She is so solid though, absolutely ready for the gospel in her life. We taught about the restoration and as we were sharing Joseph Smith's first vision, tears welled up in her eyes. She thought it was amazing and true. Something that she was wanting to hear for a long time. We love her and we are so excited to continue to teach her more about the restored gospel. Friday we all had to get up super early to go to the training meeting. There were 5 sisters there and 30 elders, so we felt a little out of place but it was so fun to see everyone. We learned a lot from President Bennion. He is such a wise man filled with so much love. I truly feel so grateful to have such an amazing mission President! Right after the training meeting we drove an hour and a half to UGA. Our poor Sister Training Leader has been trying to go on exchange with us all transfer long and we have been rescheduling every single week because we have been so busy, or something has always come up where we needed to be in our area. So our STL got President's permission to have all three of us come up to campus and help out with a booth. Weeelllll we got there super late because of the meeting, but were there to help take down the booth and make the long 2 mile trek back to the institute building. As we were walking up the hill, the big, heavy whiteboard that we were rolling back decided to completely fall apart. So there we were, the hottest day of the week, 100% humidity, walking up a hill, carrying heavy boxes, sweat dripping from our faces and now we have a broken whiteboard that we can no longer roll, but must carry. It took us 10x longer to get to the institute building and the best part is the whiteboard had "Mormon.org" in big letters plastered across it... so we were portraying ourselves well to people driving by and seeing us struggle. It was definitely an adventure though, we had fun and just laughed the whole time.

Saturday we had a baptism for a nine year old boy, Jeremiah. I absolutely love this kid. We have been working with him ever since I got to the area. His mother is a member and very very sick. He pretty much takes care of his dying mother who loves him so much. They have the most precious relationship I've ever seen. Jeremiah has wanted to be baptized for so long, but was waiting for his mother to get better. Last week Jeremiah's mom sat him down and told him that she isn't going to be getting better and he needed the strength and comfort that comes through being a member of the church and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. He was so excited. Everything went so smoothly and the Spirit was so very strong. We love him so very much!

Sis Stauffer, Hosman & Merritt

The Trio with Sister Bennion (Mission President's wife)

Jocelyn came to visit Sister Hosman!

Rachael and Lucas have been good friends since "Joy School" when they were 3, now serving together!

Jeremiah's Baptism 

7.18.16 Sweat & Tears!

Hey y'all!
Wowzer, it was a crazy week! Sweat and tears describes it in a nut
shell! One of the if not the busiest of my mission! But also one of
the funnest and most rewarding! It has been amazing and I just
absolutely love being a missionary! The trio has been a blast and we
are loving it.

Tuesday morning we had an amazing lesson with a guy named Tabaris. He
was a friend of Kierens that we were briefly introduced to a while
ago. We saw him again at Glenda's  house and got talking to him. It
was last week and we set up a time to meet with him on Tuesday. So we
went over and he was home! We taught him the Restoration and he loved
it. He already has such a strong Faith and was excited to learn more.
The spirit was so strong and it was an amazing lesson! I'm really
excited to continue teaching him. We spent the afternoon setting up
and getting everything ready for the wedding. It was so much fun and
looked so good. Then we had a great lesson with Kenny. He is doing so
good and I'm so proud of him. We taught him about the sabbath day and
he loved it. We visited some less actives and then got Kieren ready
for the wedding. I got to do her hair and makeup, it was easy and so fun! She
looked beautiful and was so happy! The spirit was so strong at the
wedding and it was amazing. That night we saw the Tapia family and put
the kids on date for August 6th. They are so sweet and have such a
strong desire to be baptized. Then we went to see Tommy and taught him
about service. We showed him the "Lift" video and he loved it.  He was
so excited for his baptism and said it wasn't coming fast enough. He
is incredible!

Wednesday we had zone conference which was fantastic! I know I always
say that but I really loved zone conference! This one we really
focused on repentance and I learned so much. As missionaries we are
called not only to teach repentance but to live it. Daily repentance
is so important! Progression is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all
about. The atonement is real. It covers everything, for everyone. If
you're stuck on sin in the past move on. Pray to forget it and keep
moving forward it. He has forgotten it because he has that power. It's
never too late! Each and every day is a blessing and can be a fresh
start. All we have to do is try our best and it's enough. Our best
might not be the same as someone else's but that's okay. He
understands and he loves you for you. After zone conference we went to
teach Hazel and her daughter named Jasmine. We have been wanting to
teach Hazels sisters for quite some time now but it's never worked
out. But we got to meet her and teach the plan of salvation. She loved
it y'all and was so excited! At first she was hesitant to listen
because her head hurt and she was tired from work. But when we got
done she said " I feel different, my head don't hurt anymore!" It was
amazing and the spirit was so strong. Testifying to her they what we
said was true. That night we had dinner with the Polston family which
was delicious. They told us they might not be moving anymore and I was
so happy! We taught them the 10 commandments with the hand signs, they
were so into it! The kids loved it and it was a much fun! I have come
to love that family so much. Then one of our investigators named
Austin really wanted to make us dinner. He is so sweet, bless his
heart! He made us the most interesting spaghetti I've ever eaten in my
life! Lol Before we headed home we stopped by Tommys and went over the
interview questions with him. He aced it, of course! It was a
wonderful day!


Thursday we went to Roswell for a doctors appointment which took up
the morning and most of the afternoon. But I got to see Gremmy!! We
went to lunch with her and it was so fun! She is doing so well and it
was so good to see her! I've missed her so much. On the way back we
were stuck in traffic so it took us forever! When we got back we
stopped by Glenda because we haven't seen her in a while. She has been
going through some hard times so we talked about having faith through
our trials. She was supposed to be baptized on Saturday but her
husband wont let her. It was so sad but she has been so strong. She
has been reading and praying everyday. I know everything happens for a
reason, we are praying her husbands heart will be softened. That night
we went to visit Adam and Andrea, a less active couple in Loganville.
They are so funny and I love them! Adam is so stubborn and he knows
exactly what he should be doing. We talked about the atonement and it
went pretty well! They promised to be at church on Sunday and made it!
Wahoo!


Friday was mostly taking up by FISH but we had load of fun of course!
We saw some great people that afternoon. We had a really good lesson
with Jeremiah. He is 9 years old and in a part member family. He is so
cute and preparing to be baptized on Saturday!

Saturday morning we got to the church and realized we didn't have a
jump suit! We were driving and calling but couldn't find one anywhere!
Finally we got one and the baptism was so wonderful! Kieren sang
amazing Grace and it was absolutely incredible. She has the most
amazing voice! Tommy Raybon was officially baptized on his birthday!
His lessons were always my favorite and filled with the spirit. He was
so prepared for this gospel and it's been incredible to watch his
change. I will never forget his face when he came out of the water,
just pure joy! He is so ready to receive the priesthood and continue
to progress. Sister Swancey took us out to lunch at Butt Hutt in
Athens! It was delicious! She then kidnapped us and wouldn't take us
to the stake center. Haha It was so funny and we were laughing so
hard. We were late of course but had the opportunity to sing for youth
conference. It was so cool! We did some weekly planning that afternoon
and then Joce came to we me! Oh my goodness. It was so good to see her
again! I have missed her so much! It felt like old times and we had so
much fun. We went to dinner at Chilis and then taught some lessons.
Her boyfriend Braden came too and it was great! We had a lesson with
Maw- Maw and Charles. They are both doing better and I just love them!
Charles is praying about a day to be baptized and told us he knows
it's what he needs to do. Then we went to see Kieren and this story
carries into Sunday! Kieren is wanting to stop smoking too. Nothing
has been helping her to stop so she came up with a plan that we needed
to find something that she loved more than smoking and we would take
that every day she smoked. We thought of everything but nothing was
working. Then it came to this... Her makeup. Every day she smoked a
cigarette we would take all of her makeup and she would have to go
without it. When she went a day without smoking, we would give it
back. It was a good plan, except she was having an anxiety attack
while we were driving away with all of her makeup and she paced up and
down the hallway for two hours after we left. The next day we looked at
our phone and saw that we had 5 missed calls and 20 texts from her
(more than we ever get in a week from her) telling us that she
absolutely NEEDS her makeup back. Right. Now. So we call her back and
she swore at telling us to give her make up back!!! "Well Kieren, did
you smoke today?" "Yes! Four cigarettes" ..... This is ridiculous. So
we go to her house that night, we were all scared out of our mind
because we don't know to what extremes she will go to to get her
makeup back. We go inside, she sits down and has another anxiety
attack. To make a long story short, we gave in and gave her makeup
back after we had role played all the situations she may be in to
where she would want a cigarette and what she could say. We also made
her chain smoke 3 cigarettes that had been soaked in curdled milk
(celestial soup) which obviously tastes disgusting. Watching her smoke
those made everyone cry though. After her last cigarette she throws up
and tells us she is never smoking again, the tears in our eyes were
enough to make her stop. It was an emotional night, but if I learned
anything from this I learned to never EVER take away her makeup..

Tommy was confirmed on Sunday and it was amazing! He brought a
notebook for us to write about it in and was so excited. He is just
the greatest!

This morning was a little crazy with cleaning checks, having two
apartments. We were in a hurry and were driving down the road when we
saw a car pulled off to the side of the road. Immediately the spirit
told me to stop and at first I second guessed thinking all we had to
do. The spirit promoted me again and so I pulled the car over to the
side of the road. We walked down the road to her car and she had run
out of gas. We went to the gas station to buy a gas tank and get her
some gas. We came back and she was filled with gratitude. We starting
talking with her and her name sounded so familiar to me. We began
teaching her about the BoM and a smile came over her face. She had to
get going to work but we got her information and set a time to go back
tomorrow. When we got in the car and looked at area book she was a
former investigator. A bible referral but hadn't been taught or
anything. It was so amazing! I know the lord is ALWAYS preparing
people and placing them in our paths. This is his work and I'm so glad
I get to be a part of it. Nothing makes me happier! The church is true
and the book is blue!

Thank y'all for you're love and support! I love each and every one of
you so much! Have a wonderful week! Xoxo

Love,
Sister Hosman❤️🍑

 Rachael was so happy to see Sister Holmgren!

This picture came from Riley's email - she said, "It's always a joy to see this ray of sunshine!"

7.12.16 The terrific trio!

Hello y'all! It has been a crazy week with lots of changes! We are officially in a trio as of Thursday and loving it! We are in different apartments each night with an air mattress and our suit cases with us at all times. It has been an adventure, but so fun and we have already seen so many incredible miracles. There are power in numbers!

Tuesday night we had another incredible lesson with Tommy. We were a bit nervous to teach him the WoW because of his past but said a prayer and went forward with faith. As we started to teach him the spirit was so strong and he recognized the truth of it so fast! He began to tell us that when he was reading from the BoM he felt like he really needed to treat his body better so he stopped drinking! It had been several weeks and he is doing so good! We were amazed and my testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon grew. Heavenly Father is always teaching these people and preparing us for the next step in the gospel. At the end of the lesson Tommy reached in his back pocket and handed us his can of chewing tobacco right then and there! He had been chewing since he was 8 years old but was so willingly to give it up and do what's right. It was so incredible to me and once again of the best lessons of my mission. I feel so blessed to be a small part of helping Tommy in this journey and seeing the change in him. Then we went to see Kieren and Marcus, they are doing great! We showed them a video and Kieren asked for a blessing to help her with her WoW problems. It was a great night!

Wednesday morning we drove to Roswell because Sister Stauffer had a doctors appointment down there. That is where we spent the morning and most of the day! 3 hours to get home with all the traffic and rain storm! It was crazy but it gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other. That night we had dinner with the Polston family! They are so cute and I just love them more and more every time. We talked about the sacrament and really helped Finley understand it, it was great! Then we had correlation and a lesson with Tommy. Brother Warren and Brother Jordan came with us and they gave Tommy a priesthood blessing to help him with his word of wisdom problem. The spirit was so strong and Tommy can't wait to receive the priesthood some day.

Thursday we went back down to the mission office to pick up Sister Merritt. It was the beginning of the terrific trio! That night we had some extra time before our next appointment with Tommy and decided to do some inspired tracting. We met a super cute lady named Mira and taught her most of the restoration. She loved it and we are going back this next week! When we got to Tommy's house he said he had questions about God's laws or the 10 commandments. It was so cool because that is exactly what we were planning on teaching him! We helped him understand them and the lesson went really well. After that we went to Kierens and she received a priesthood blessing. She loved it and said she knew it was from God.

Friday morning we went and volunteered at FISH. We got to drive a route and had a lot of fun! That afternoon we visited some less actives and learned how to make chocolate pecan pies! They are SO delicious! That night we went to visit the Noyes. She is a less active due to health issues and her 9 year old son is an investigator. He is so cute and loves the missionaries! We had a great lesson with him and put him on date for the end of this month! Then we went to visit the Tapia family, they are so great! The mom is also a less active but two of her kids are investigating! They are so smart and love the gospel! We went over what it means to keep the sabbath day holy and they were so excited to come to church. I have taught them on exchange once and just fell in love with the kids. I'm so excited to start working with them and help them progress!

Saturday's highlight was our lesson in the morning with Jarree but the miracle goes into Sunday. Jarree is one of our wonderful investigators we have been working with in Loganville. She is a wife of a inactive member and she has great faith in Jesus Christ. When we first started working with her she wasn't reading scriptures, praying or going to church despite her strong testimony of the Savior. But she had that desire to come closer to him. Saturday we had a lesson with her.. She told us she has been reading the scriptures and praying a lot now. Her faith in Jesus Christ has increased and she wanted that for her family too, especially her inactive husband. The spirit was so strong as we talked about the importance of baptism by proper priesthood authority and gave her the calendar to pick a date to be baptized. She chose August 13th and at the end of the lesson we had asked her to pray about the date she had chosen. When she asked Heavenly Father if it was right, the room was silent for a while and then we could hear sniffles. She started crying as the spirit testified to her that it was the right thing to do. Sunday morning her AND her inactive husband came to church, participated, met a lot of people and could feel the spirit. At the end of the three hours Jarree's husband excitedly tells us "I've had the best day! I'm ready for a calling! Where's my home teaching list? I need to be more involved!" He then became a little more serious and said "I wanted to thank you Sisters, if it weren't for you, we both wouldn't be here today." Jarree, too, was so happy and told us they would definitely be back the next week! The Spirit has definitely pricked both of their hearts and gave them a taste of something they had both been missing for a long time. It was incredible! Sunday was a delight! We had 9 investigators at church and it was incredible. We felt so blessed and the Ward was so great to introduce themselves to everyone. After church we had a great lesson with Kenny. We haven't been able to see him lately with him being out of town but he has been reading almost everyday! We had a great lesson on prayer and scripture study with him and talked about the importance of it. Then we put him on date for August 6th and we are so excited! He has grown so much and I'm so proud of him! We went and had a delicious lunch and read with the Kalanuis. We dropped by Hazel's house to say we missed her at church and met her 22 year old daughter named Jasmine. She was being taught awhile ago but had kind of lost interest. At first it was super awkward but by the end she was opening up to us a little bit and said we could come back next week! It was an awesome tender mercy to end the day before we had to head home to weekly plan!

It has been such an awesome week and I've learned so much. I've really been studying the atonement and grace. The more I do the more I want to share it with everyone I see just like the promise says in Preach My Gospel! He has payed the price for each and everyone of us. We don't have to feel that guilt and sadness because of him. It's because of his grace all things are possible. It's never too late. You've never gone too far. His arm are out reached to us always. Everyday he is walking right by our side, when he isn't it's because he is carrying you. I'm so grateful for this time I have to be his representative and share his gospel. I know it to be true. It can bring more happiness than you can ever imagine. I love y'all! Have a wonderful week and never forget you're never alone!

Xoxo Love,
Sister Hosman

7.5.16 Happy 4th of July and bye to Gremmy❤️

Hi y'all! It has been a crazy week and an even crazier weekend! I don't have much time today at all but will give you a few of the highlights!

Monday night we had an incredible lesson with Tommy!! At first the spirit wasn't quite as strong and I wasn't sure why. As I said a quick silent prayer Brother Warren announced that we were going to sing Tommy "I'm a child of God!" The spirit was so strong as soon as we finished singing and he was continuing to finish our sentences. He is so prepared! We invited him to be baptized on the 23rd of July and his response was "what about the 16th? So I can be reborn on my birthday!" He is incredible and of course we said yes!

Tuesday we had a great zone meeting and oh my goodness I learned so much! Then there was a crazy southern summer rain storm! That afternoon we had several cancellations. We didn't know what to do and decided to be real bold. We dropped by a former investigator named Angela Bailey and she was so happy to see us. We were able to share a message with her and it was great! We were able to see a couple more people and then decided to be bold again that night. We went in social circle and decided to go check on Glenda and Ed! Not sure if you remember them but he is a long lost member and she was investigating. They were so great and some of our favorites. They dropped us though and we were so nervous to go back. As soon as Ed saw us he got so excited and invited us right in! It was so good to see them again and such a tender mercy!

Wednesday morning we got to go to FISH and drive a route around! It was so much fun and always so humbling to see those sweet kids! We had some good lessons that afternoon and then saw Kieren that night. We were driving home in the scariest rain storm and I really felt God's protection. I know He protects his missionaries!

Thursday was a super busy day full of lessons! In the morning we saw some awesome less actives. That night we had great lessons with Glenda, Tommy and Kieren! They are all doing great and I'm so proud of them! Friday was mostly taken up by FISH and weekly planning!

Saturday night we got to finally see the Polston family again! We had dinner with them and they are great as ever! Finley was so excited to tell us that he received his answer to prayer, that what we were teaching was true! He is so sweet. We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well! They told us they will be moving next month and we are so sad! We will be sending the missionaries over to help them move and be praying for them!(: Sunday we had the most incredible testimony meeting. There was a theme of patriotism and it was wonderful. I am so proud to be an American and live in this beautiful country! We had a great lesson in Sunday school on the sacrament. We talked about how we can make the sacrament more personal and I loved this acronym. As we take the sacrament we...
Take his name upon you
Always remember him
Keep his commandments
Endure to the end
When the doors are open its a chapel but when they are closed it becomes an ordinance room. What a cool and Incredible thought! After church we had some great lessons! That night we decided to drop by someone named Tavis who we haven't seen since we first got here and it was great! She was so happy to see us and we were finally able to really teach her the restoration. She loved it and is excited to read the BoM! It was so great! That night we got a call from president with some super sad news... There were some changes in the mission and Sister Holmgren was being emergency transferred! This morning she left for Roswell and I will miss her so much! We had become best friends and I feel so blessed to have served with her. I learned so much from her and admire her in so many ways! I know the Lord has a plan and that everything happens for a reason! She will be so great in her new area and I'm so proud of her! My new companion is Sister Stauffer from Juneau Alaska! She is super sweet and as I'm typing this we just got a call that we will be in a trio starting Thursday evening! Woah y'all! It will be a crazy week! Please keep me in your prayers.

Monday was a wonderful holiday and we had a lot of fun doing a free cookie/lemonade stand with the other sisters! We had a lot of fun and met some wonderful people! The rest of the day was going around saying goodbyes from Gremmy!

I have really been reflecting this week how blessed I am to be here in America. I'm so grateful to live in a free country where the gospel could be restored. And now this wonderful opportunity I have to share it with the peachy people of Georgia! I absolutely love it here and feel so blessed! I miss and love y'all so much! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! I know God has a plan for everything and everyone! The church is true and the book is blue! Love, Sister Hosman❤️🍑

Loved seeing Sister Christensen at Zone Meeting

Oh how I'm going to miss these hugs!

6.27.16 Wake Me Up When September Ends❤️

Hi y'all!! It was a magnificent week and we saw many miracles! We also had lots of opportunities to serve which was great! The humidity is a killer and only getting worse hence the title of this weeks email Wake Me Up When September Ends! Haha

Tuesday was a crazy but great day! That morning we went and had a lesson with Tonia. We were a little worried and think about dropping her but when she reached out to us we decided to have one more lesson. We taught her the plan of salvation and the spirit was super strong! She said she knew she had never heard it, but she felt like she already knew some of it. We talked about how we were taught these things in the premortal life and that a lot of what we talked about would ring a familiar bell. She told us that she really wanted to give it her all and was so excited to come to church on Sunday. She even asked for some chapters out of the BoM and bible to study about it! It was an awesome start to the day! Then we went and did some service for Kieren and had a lesson with her. We didn't have much time so we just ran by chick-fil-a for lunch and some members were there! They paid for our lunch and we got to have lunch with them. It was so sweet!(: After that we went to have a lesson with Debi and do some service for her, she owns a business so it was a lot of paper work. We sorted through invoices, bills and deposits. We felt like we were in school again and learned the differences between receipts, invoices and bills! Haha After that we had a delicious dinner with the Catos. We love them so much and were laughing the whole time. Kenny got there in time for the spiritual message which was perfect! That night we went to visit the Andersons in Social Circle. Sister Andersons mother passed away and they were going through a hard time. When we got there Sister Anderson invited her dad in who is not a member so we could offer a special prayer on the home and family. Of course Gremmy "voluntold" me to offer it and I was so scared! It turned out to be an amazing experience and I could feel the spirit speaking through me. I don't even remember what I said but the spirit was so strong!

Wednesday morning we went to volunteer at FISH! It was fun as always except when we got home and Sister Holmgren told me that some guy was following me around and hitting on me. Ew! Earlier in the week we got a call from the Loganville sisters. Sister Merritt started talking to us about an investigator she had taught in her last area, Glenda. Sister Merritt said that Glenda had recently moved to Monroe, and wanted to meet the missionaries here. So we set up an appointment with Glenda and got to meet her on Wednesday. As we asked some questions, we got to find out that she had been taught quite a bit, and remembered a good portion of the things she was taught. As we continued to talk, the spirit become present in the room, and we asked her about baptism and if she had ever thought about it. She said she would loved to be baptized. She said she was so ready and knew that it was what she needed to do, but she said she was leaving for a few weeks at the end of July, so would have to be at the end of August. As the spirit told us how ready she really was, we encouraged her to pray about being baptized about being baptized in July, before leaving on her trip. She agreed. It was a great lesson! Then we had great lessons with the Smiths and Hazel! After that we had a yummy dinner with Sister Stone and Grace. The rest of the night was taken up by ward correlation.

Thursday morning we had district meeting and got to meet the new sisters! Sister Holmgren and I gave a training on The Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion. It was a fantastic training and the spirit was so strong. I love teaching with Sister Holmgren and it was so great to train together! After Distrcit meeting we had lunch at Sister Gossling's. She is so cute and served a mission so when there was thirty minutes left of our lunch hour she said "go lay down on the guest bed and take a nap, I know you want to," Haha it was so great and much needed! We helped trim her bushes and I couldn't help but think of the Will of God Mormon message. We were pruning these big beautiful bushes and after we were done they looked so small and bare. But the pruning was necessary so they could continue to grow. Just like with us sometimes God puts us through things that tear us up and make us shrink but they are essential for our growth. He is the true gardener! After that we went to visit with Connie. We hadn't been able to see Dylan in forever and decided that if we couldn't see his this time we would have to drop him. We went in and sat down with Connie, before we knew it out came Dylan to join us! We had a great lesson and it was a tender mercy of God saying don't give up on him yet. So cool! That night we went to see Kieren and Marcus. We went a different way than usual and got a little lost! We found the cutest gas station with delicious peach margarita snow cones and boiled pens its! Yummy! We finally made it to Kierens and read a chapter with them. Kieren is really applying the scriptures to her life and loving the BoM! It is so amazing! That night we were sitting in our car at the end of a great day and had just prayed to receive a referral. We needed some new investigators and as we evaluated things we realized the best way to get solid new investigators was through referrals. As soon as Sister Holmgren finished praying, our phone rang and it was the sisters telling us all about Tommy! When they were teaching some of his friends Tommy would occasionally come over and listen in. He was reading from the BoM a bit and interested in learning more. When he moved to Monroe he asked if there were any missionaries he could meet with here. We knew right then and there that it was a miracle and made an appointment to visit him Saturday night!! When we got inside we had a fun encounter with a ginormous cockroach! Gremmy was terrified so I held her and finally convinced her it was safe to get into bed. Friday was taken up mostly by volunteering at FISH and weekly planning!

Saturday morning we did service at Sister Stones with the sisters! It was super fun and we were so sweaty! Sister Stone made us the most delicious BLTs for lunch! That afternoon we taught the Law of Chastity to the Carrolls. It was super awkward considering they are three boys ages 13, 12 and 9. They just hid under pillows and didn't talk much during this lesson. The poor 9 year old was just lost the whole time. Haha Sister Carroll told him not to worry that she would explain it later. That night we got to teach the referral from the Loganville sisters, Tommy. We took Sister Warren with us and it was like we were in a trio. Her and her husband recently returned home from a mission. Then went to meet Tommy and had the most incredible lesson. The spirit was so strong and as we taught him about the restoration he quickly recognized that it the spirit was confirming that what we were saying was true! As soon as I finished quoting the first vision he said "then they were able to tell him that the full truth was gone but needed to come back!" In amazement I said yes and we continued with the restoration lesson. He loved it and accepted the invitation to be baptized. We gave him a restoration pamphlet and he said he was so excited to study it on his hour lunch break and get as many questions as he can for us! He is so prepared and ready for this gospel. He loved as we taught him about a latter day prophet and can't wait to hold the priesthood himself. It was one of the best lessons of my mission!

Sunday we were a little low on numbers at church but it was a great day! Glenda and her sister Tonie were able to come and loved it! Sister Jones a less active woman who hasn't been to church in over 20 or 30 years walked in and it was so cool! After church we visited some less active families as usual and then finally got to go see Maw-Maw. She has been super busy and we haven't seen her in weeks. That night we went back to Glenda's and talked to her about praying about her baptism date. She said "I think we will go for the 16th of July!" We were so excited to hear that and it was so wonderful to see one of our investigators receive an answer to her prayer! It was another incredible week here and feel so blessed to be a missionary! It is the best decision I've ever made and I'm so grateful for your love and support. I couldn't do it without y'all! I hope all is going well, you're in my prayers! I love y'all!

Love, Sister Rachael Hosman❤️🍑

Kieren's nieces, we love them to death!

Georgia girls don't sweat - they glisten! 

Doing some hard core service at the Stones! I got the wish bone, Sister Holmgren is trying not to be too sad about losing!(; 

Found a cute little gas station with peach margarita shave ice! Yummy!! 

Spent one hot afternoon trimming bushes at the Gossling Farm🌳

Beautiful Georgia!

Welcome to GANM, Sisters Held and Worlton! Two new greenies on our district, both wearing yellow shirts!(: 

Matching GANM shirts for more service at Kierens house!❤️