Peach My Gospel: 3.7.16 As Sister's in Zion

Hey y'all!(: It was a wonderful week here and the work is going great! Spring is just around the corner and the weather is beautiful!

Tuesday was a fantastic day! That morning we had a great lesson with James. We were able to answer his questions and starting teaching him the plan of salvation. It went really well and I am excited to see him progress in this gospel. After that we went with the sisters to look at apartments and then had a lesson with Laurissa. We talked about the temple and she is working towards receiving her endowments. I am so excited for her and she is happier than she has been in a long time! We came home and made lunch and then went to campus to meet with Andrew. We talked about our relationship with Heavenly Father and how we must read and pray everyday to make that relationship grow. We talked about how loving our Heavenly Father is and how to recognize him in the details of our lives. Next we went contacting and it was awesome! We have been really trying to balance our finding and teaching and are being so blessed. We were able to talk to lots of people and met an awesome new investigator named Ty'ya. She was so sweet and is so excited to hear about the gospel. She is so elect and we are so excited to start teaching her. After that we had a great lesson with Ben on the priesthood. Teaching him is like teaching a recent convert, he already knows so much and is so ready for Saturday. The lesson went really well and we are all looking forward to Saturday!(: That night we went out for Mexican food with Justin. It was really yummy and there was a crazy lighting/rain storm. We went to go check on a referral named Jessi but she wasn't home. We ended the day with a wonderful lesson with Jocelyn. She taught us about enduring the end and it was great! She is doing awesome and I just love her so much! I really feel like I have known her my whole life! We were able to reach our goals and it was a really great day!!

Sister Hosman is on the back row, just to the right of center - can you believe how many Sister Missionaries there are?

Wednesday was a terrific day! We got up extra early for a special sisters conference in Lilburn! We hit really bad traffic and the drive was long but so worth it! It was so fun to see all the sisters in the mission! Sister Bennion gave a wonderful talk on being loyal to the royal within us. At the sisters conference we talked a lot about companions and how to work with different personalities which was super helpful! We also talked about being bold and how we are the only ones who can do this! It is up to us! It was an amazing meeting and I hope they make it a tradition! By the time we got back home it was 6 so we had to go straight to dinner! We had dinner with Jackie which is always great to hear about her mission stories! That night we went to institute which was great and had Ben's baptismal interview!

Sister Hosman giving a training @ District Meeting

Thursday was another wonderful day peaching the gospel! (: It started with a great district meeting. We have been really focusing on simplify and intensify and it has been so great! We taught the plan of salvation has a district using PED⭐️ which stands for principal, example/experience, doctoring then testify. It went really well and the spirit was so strong. It was the best! This is gospel is meant to be taught so simply. Then I gave a training on teach when you find and find when you teach. We talked about how important it is to open our mouth and talk to everyone we see. Always treat every opportunity like the golden one, picture them in white! We took turns coming up with crazy door and contacting approaches. Relating everything to the gospel and beginning to teach right then and there. It was a lot of fun and I think it went really well!(:

After district meeting a member had Jimmy Johns relievers and it was delicious!(: It was a crazy rain/hail storm so Jocelyn picked us up and we headed to campus. Sadly our appointment didn't show up and we had no idea what to do. We decided we had to go out and talk to people. (There is rule that we can't contact or talk to people inside buildings, which meant we were going out in the hail storm!) But the Lord blessed us immensely and lead us to two golden investigators. We met Ty'ya and Beninta they both are so sweet and are so prepared for this gospel. We are so excited to start teaching them next week. I learned from my own training and it was so cool! I know the lord has prepared people to find and he will guide us to them as long as we open our mouths. After that we had a lesson with Heather and Jocelyn, we talked about patriarchal blessings. It went really well and they both promised to pray to know when they are ready doe them. Next we met with Derik and he taught us the plan of salvation. It went really well and it is amazing to see how much he has learned. He is strugling right now and it is so sad. It is so hard to see the adversary working so hard in the recent converts. You wanna help them but sometimes there is nothing we can do and it's the worst. He is so strong and I know that he will push through. The Lord has amazing things in store for him! After Derik's lesson, we had a lesson with Baylen and he taught us the restoration. He is actually doing really well and it's so great! Justin was there and was able to help answer questions which was really good! After the lesson we all went and had dinner at the commons and it was fun! Then Jocelyn took us to Jesses to have a lesson and it was wonderful! We taught him about keeping the sabbath day holy, tithing and fast offerings. It went really well and he understood all of it. He is so prepared and is so excited to be baptized. His brother was there eating dinner and made some awesome comments. It was so cool and we invited him to join us next time. He said he had been hopping around to different churches but he is so supportive of Jesse! The spirit was so strong in the lesson and he is doing so amazing! It was a super good day!(:

Friday was the best! This week was just so wonderful! Friday morning we went to the food pantry which is always so much fun. After that Miss Donna payed for our breakfast and then we decided to go check on a referral. Her name is Lee and she is so cute! She let us right in and we taught her the restoration. It went so well and the spirit was so strong. We really focused on simplify and intensify. When we asked her what she thought she said, "well ya it makes total sense that God would call another prophet just like he did in the bible!" It was so cool and is such a testimony that God is really preparing these people for the gospel. We have seen that so much this week and it is incredible! After that we went and had lunch and then met with Elizabeth. She is doing so good and I am so proud of her! She has been reading her scriptures everyday and writing in a journal in preparation for her mission. She is such an amazing girl and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store with her. We had her teach us why it is so important to be baptized and confirmed as if we had already been baptized! It was awesome(: Then we finally got to do tables and it was the best! We were able to meet some awesome people.

I met this super cute girl named Erica and she was so excited to hear about the BoM. She was so happy when I told her she could have a copy of it. This gospel is so amazing and we need to be so excited and ready to share it with everyone! After tables we met with Hailey which was awesome and then go to the Omer's. In the 3 1/2 months I have been in this area it was the third house I have been to! It was so nice and SO good to have a home cooked meal! The food was delicious and although it sounds silly it was just so nice to be in a home. On our way back to Kennesaw we stopped to see Amanda. We shared a quick spiritual message with her on patriarchal blessings and what a great blessing they are. Then hurried back to have a lesson with Yasmine. The lesson went super well and she is just so great! She is not the same girl I met at tables a couple weeks ago. She is starting to let the gospel really change her life and is growing so much. She is making changes all on her own the more she sees how this gospel can bless her life. We finished teaching her the plan of salvation and it was great! She loved it and understood every word. Derik came has a team up and oh my goodness! He was just teaching Yasmine and it was the most amazing thing. To watch someone you taught teaching someone else is just the greatest thing in the world! Being a missionary is the best and I love it so much!(:

Saturday was another fantastic day! We got to serve at the food pantry in the morning which was great. It was slow but that is actually a really good thing cuz it means not as many people needed it. I always love starting my day off there and it never fails to make me happier than I was when I walked in. After that we had do some running around for the baptism to get the different keys and the white jump suit. We then went to lunch at Olive Garden with the Manning's. It was really fun and nice to finally meet them. (they are the soon to be in laws of Ben) Then we had the baptism and it went really well. Ben was so happy and there were lots there to support him. Both Yasmine and Jesse were able to come and it was awesome! Because all the family came from Greensboro which is a couple hours away we were able to do the conformation right after he baptism. The spirit was so strong and you could just see that Ben was glowing. Everyone was so happy for him and it was so cool! A supportive member family makes such a difference for recent converts. The Manning's really love Ben and he fits right in! After the baptism we had a really good lesson with Yasmine. We talked about the baptism and then taught her about fasting. She has already grown so much and is doing so great. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and she agreed to fast with us. After the baptism we went home to start weekly planning! Then we had dinner with Theo which is always the best! Not sure if I have already mentioned it but he is from the Congo and is the coolest guy! That night we went to the branch to help clean and did some more weekly planning. It was a really great and we have been so blessed this week! I really hope to stay in Big Shanty!

Ben's Baptism - Saturday, March 5, 2016

Sunday really was another incredible day! It was a truly amazing fast and testimony meeting! Jesse bore his testimony and it was so good! The spirit was so strong and you could see how much he wanted this. He talked about how grateful he was for the missionaries and how he wants the happiness he can see in the members. He talked about how excited he is to get baptized. Jocelyn also bore an awesome testimony as well as Jackie, Justin, Theo and so many others! Yasmine was able to come and she really liked it. It amazes me how there is always a theme to testimony meeting and you know God is behind it all. The spirit is an incredible thing. After church we met with Jesse and taught him the word of wisdom. We were a little nervous at first but it went super well and he totally agreed it. He love this gospel and is so ready to be baptized on the 19th. The branch already loves him and it makes a big difference. I am so grateful for the wonderful members in the branch and all the love they show. After that we went to check on a referral with Jocelyn before heading to Marietta. She was actually happy to see us and we had a good talk with her about the Book of Mormon as well as some of our basic beliefs. We talked about what a family the church is and she really loved it. She agreed to come to church next Sunday and see for herself. Her mom got home while we were on the porch talking with her and she wasn't the happiest to see us but it's all good! I know Heavenly Father will soften her heart. Then we headed to Marietta and had a great lesson with Riley. We talked about patience, especially in our afflictions. The Mourdock's then had us over for a delicious Sunday dinner! We are officially apart of their family and it's so fun to be them! They are such a great family and I am so grateful for them. We then came home to finish planning and send out the weekly email! It was superb week and we are feeling so blessed. Being a missionary is the most incredible calling in the whole world! I am loving it more everyday and am so grateful for each of you! Your love and support mean the world to me!

I learned so much this week and feel so blessed to be serving in this area. At church yesterday there was a lot of testimonies given on trusting in our Heavenly Father. I know that he knows what we need better than we know what we want. On the mission all the coping mechanisms that I had back home are not here. I can't go to my room alone, go on a drive, talk to my parents etc. On the mission I have really learned to trust in my heavenly Father and fall to my knees. I know that he hears and answers our prayers. He never promised us that it would be easy he just said it would be worth it. This week in my studies I was reading in Heleman chapter 12 and I love verse 3. It says..

3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

I know that the lord gives us trials and tribulations so that we may always remember him. I am grateful for both the good and bad days on the mission and am so grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel in my life. I love y'all very much and hope you have a blessed week! Be

patient in your afflictions and always remember him. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ YOU are never alone! You are in my prayers! Stay peachy(:

Love, Sister Hosman