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!❤️

6.20.16 Halfway there, living on a prayer!❤️ & "Can I buy that book on Amazon?"

Hey y'all!! So Monday was crazy as ever and long story short we are no longer in a trio! We had a wonderful week and saw so many miracles! I'm short on time but here are some highlights, hope it all makes sense! Haha

Tuesday we had a wonderful district meeting! It was our last one before transfers so we played charades and it was super fun! We went to visit Sister Ratz and she is still cute as ever! We had a lesson with Connie Canty and it is amazing to see how much she has grown. She is now coming to church and reading from the BoM. So proud of her! That night we had dinner with the Carroll family! They have been baptized for almost a year now and are doing so great! We are helping them get ready to go the temple. That night we saw Kieren and Marcus who are doing great. We taught them the gospel of Jesus Christ and they both asked great questions! Love them both so much!

Wednesday morning we went to help out at FISH. I can't remember if I've explained what that is or not but we go and make lunches for the poorer areas of Monroe. It stands for Faith In Serving Humanity. It is such a wonderful program and brings all faiths together. After we got done making lunches and were setting up for the next day one of the drivers said she needed a partner because hers didn't show up. We volunteered and said if she had room for two we would love to go! She moved her seats around and we got to go with her to deliver the lunches. What a cool experience! We drove around downtown Monroe and as we pulled into the neighborhood she would start honking her horn like crazy. The kids would come running out from everywhere with huge smiles on their faces. Some of the cutest kids I've ever seen just filled with gratitude. It was so sweet and such a humbling experience!! That night we had an awesome correlation and met the new sister! She is super sweet and her name is Sister Held. I remember being right where she was and thinking I would never make it to 9 months!! What happened?! Don't blink y'all, it's dangerous!(;

Thursday was a terrific day! We met with Kenny and he is doing great! We taught him the word of wisdom and he understood it all. He says he as really seen/felt a difference since he has started to meet with us. So cool! We also got to see Charles! We had a really good lesson with him about the priesthood! We were able to answer his questions and really get in depth about it. He is so excited to receive it some day and knows it to be true! That night we went to social circle to check on some referrals who hasn't been taught in years. The mission office had done a data base clean out so randomly we got a bunch of referrals for people who hadn't been taught in years. We went to one house looking for Avis but found Jennifer. She is so sweet and as soon as we introduced ourselves she stepped right out on the porch to learn more. The spirit was so strong and the lesson went really well. She happily accepted the invitation to read the BOM and we are going back to see her tonight! I'm so excited.

Friday morning we went back to FISH but only to make the lunches this time! It was still lots of fun and then we spent the afternoon weekly planning. We went to meet another referral but she had recently moved. Instead we met Tasha and her two boys and it was wonderful! As we told her who we were and our purpose as missionaries her eyes just got bigger. She filled with excitement and said, "we need some Jesus, please come back tomorrow!" It was so great and such a tender mercy! 

Saturday was spectacular, we so many people and miracles! That morning we went to see Sister Martin and had the most incredible lesson. We taught her the restoration and the spirit was so strong! As I finished quoting the first vision and the spirit filled the room all she could say was "wow!" We talked a lot about the BoM and she committed to try her best to read it everyday. It is so amazing how the spirit never fails when we teach the restoration. That afternoon we went to see Tasha and she was so happy to see us! She told us about some crazy things that have been happening in her life and that she needed peace. We promised that our message would bring her peace and shared the restoration with her. As we were talking about the BoM she paused to ask "can I buy that book on Amazon?!" We couldn't help but to start to laugh! We had such a wonderful lesson with her and the spirit was so strong! As we invited her to read and pray about the BoM she said "I will but only if y'all promise to come back!" It was incredible and she is so prepared for this gospel! We talked about baptism and she has never been baptized because she is just waiting for the right church. What?! We put her in date for July 23rd and are so excited! After that we had great lessons with Michael and Kenny. We read a chapter with Kenny and really got him started on reading from the BoM. Then we felt like we should stop by to visit Courtney. She was going through a hard time and it was perfect timing. I'm so grateful for the little promptings from the Holy Ghost. That night we went to see Kieren and Marcus. We read a chapter with him and Kieren started explaining it to us! It was so incredible! She has grown so much and is starting to love the BoM!

Sunday was Father's Day, Happy Father's Day y'all! We had a great church service, Charles came and loved it! We had some meetings with the new sister after church and then went to read with the Kalanuis and help Sister Hutchins. That night we went to the a family party to meet some new less actives and share a Father's Day message! It was awesome! Our night ended at Kierens of course! Her dad wanted his "Mormon daughters" to come over. His heart is really being softened to the gospel and it is amazing! He is starting to ask us questions and everything! I just feel so blessed to be a missionary! It's the best decision I've ever made! I hope y'all are doing well and enjoying summer. I can't thank you enough for your support and love! Love and miss y'all! Xoxo

 Sister Hosman❤️🍑

Happy Father's Day, and yes I know my scriptures were upside down!

I can't believe I've been out for 9 months!

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This is Charles, who they met there first day in Monroe and is planning to be baptized!

The "Sistrict"

Monroe

I introduced Gremmy to white cherries and now they are a staple!

6.13.16 TRIO TIME🙈😳

Y'ALL IM IN A TRIO!!! We just found out!! Haha what?!!?

Hello y'all! Well it's transfer day and just when I thought I was safe president called! Sister Merritt, who is in Loganville was supposed to be training but her greenie didn't make it so we are now in a trio!! They are combining the ward again for 6 weeks and then splitting it again. The mission is super low on missionaries right now but we have lots coming in next transfer! Things are super crazy and we still can't believe it! It will be a lot of fun but a crazy week! Keep us in your prayers please! This last week was incredible and we saw so many miracles!

Tuesday was a terrific day!! We had an awesome zone meeting and I learned so much. There was a focus on keeping it positive especially in this summer heat. The senior missionaries, Elder and Sister Bennion trained us and it was so wonderful! I learned so much from them and can't wait to serve with my husband some day. One of my favorite quotes from the meeting was "the best things like homemade bread takes patience and hard work!" Two things I have learned a lot about both of those on my mission and it is so true! Later we went back to see Michael to bring him a large print copy of the bible. He was so happy to see us and thought we had forgotten about him. He invited us right in and we shared the plan of salvation. He loved it and the spirit was SO strong. He was open to us coming back and his heart had been softened. He even said we could come bring him a large print copy of the BoM!! It was so awesome! That night we went to see Kieren and answer a lot of her questions about the temple. She wants to be sealed in the SLC temple and it so cool! We then read a chapter out of first Nephi and talked about Lehi's vision of the tree of life. Kieren is really coming to love the BoM and it so amazing!

Wednesday morning we went to see Debi and had a really good lesson. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to pray about a date to be baptized. She asked great questions and it was awesome! That night we went to teach the Anderson's. Sister Anderson's friend named Star was there again so we taught them the Restoration. We invited Brother Nye which was great but things got a little crazy! Sister Anderson and Brother Nye wanted to help teach so there was a lot of interrupting and talking over each other. Other than that the lesson went really well and Star loved it. But we noticed something really cool afterwards. Whenever Sister Holmgren or I would speak everyone would be focused and quiet. We had all eyes on us and the spirit was there. It really strengthened my testimony that we have been called and set apart to teach. Even though we all have the same knowledge of the gospel, we have the power and authority to teach!

Thursday afternoon was crazy! We went to meet a guy named Jarvarious and when we knocked on his door his family let us right in. Only to tell us that he was coughing up blood and they were taking him to the ER!! What?! Then we went to see Tonia and when we got to her house the door was off the hinges. So we just knocked on the side of the house. There was lots of yelling, banging and screaming. Suddenly the Holy Ghost told us we needed to leave. That is wasn't safe to be there and we knew it without a doubt. I'm so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost to warn us and always be with us. Thursday night we got to finally see Charles again! He has been out of town and his phone got shut off so it's been awhile. But he has been reading from the BoM and loving it. We met at Maw-Maws with him and read a chapter. It was a great lesson and he is doing really well! Then we went to see Hazel, yes she is still the cutest thing ever! We went over the restoration since it had been awhile and helped answer her questions. She committed to begin reading the Book of Mormon again that night. It was an awesome night! :)

Saturday was cookie day! We decided to make a bunch of cookies and go deliver them to as many people as we can. It was a lot of fun and a success! That afternoon we took cookies to and taught as many people as we can. We were able to see several people we hadn't been able to see that week and it was great! We shared an analogy as we delivered the cookies and they loved it! Imagine that you are the cookie... And you get mixed and beat, and tossed around until you think you can't handle it any more. So you pray and pray and just when you think it's all over, you get torn apart and rolled into a ball and slammed on a cookie sheet. All the while, you're still praying. And when you think all your trials have passed, you get thrown in the hot, hot oven and bake! For who knows how long! But then, by the grace of God, you are saved. You become a beautiful cookie! You would have never become that beautiful cookie if you hadn't gone through all the trials and tribulations. It also applies to missionaries work!! Because you get thrown in this crazy mix with new rules and a new lifestyle. But it's through the atonement that we can become the people God needs us to be! That night we went to see Kieren and she is still doing so good! She had read a chapter all on her own and understood every word! We read another chapter with him and she got it! That girl has come so far and I'm so proud of her!

Sunday was so wonderful! Witt finally come to church to see what it's all about. Kenny was also there with Grace and loved it! Connie Canty the less active we have been working with for awhile came and it was so amazing! The theme of this month is Christlike attributes and we had really great talks. We were so sad not to see Kieren walk in and were worried about her. Near the end of Sunday school Sister Merritt pointed to the window and there was Kieren! She felt so bad about sleeping in but wanted to make sure to come to relief society! What?! So proud of her! It was her first time and she loved it. After church we had a great lesson with Kenny on the priesthood. He is loving church and is doing really well! After that we went to go have lunch and read with the Kalanuis. It was just Sister Kalanui and her daughter but afterwards we had to run by the church. It was such a tender mercy because brother Kalanui was there! We were able to talk with him for bit and read with him! Next we went to stop by the Rochas, a less active family we have been trying to meet since we got here! One of the daughters Celina was so happy to see us. She invited us right in and opened up to us about everything. She is so sweet and when we shared a message with her she loved it. She said she knew that we were meant to come by that day and said just what she needed to hear! It was so cool! Missionary work is just the best! Then we went to see Kieren who is still doing great! Love that girl! This week I've been pondering a lot of prayer and scripture study. Something came up that I've never thought of before. James 1:5 is pretty far in the bible... It's not like he just flipped into but he had to have been already reading. It also didn't answer his question exactly but he had to ponder about it and then act in faith. I know Heavenly Father always answers our prayers. If you want to talk to God pray and if you want to talk to him read your scriptures. They hold the answers and are more accessible than ever!

Happy Father's Day!! I love you daddy! Hope y'all have a wonderful day. Thank you to all the wonderful men in my life that have helped me become the person I am today. I love y'all! Love, Sister Hosman❤️🍑

They were all a bit surprised to be in a trio!  What a fun adventure...

6.6.16 Georgia is like walking through hot juice!😳

Hello y'all! We had a great week here and we were so blessed with many miracles! It was one hot week here and humid as ever! I don't have much time, but here are some highlights!

Tuesday night we had FHE and dinner at the bishops home. We invited a family we are teaching and it was so great! I'm not sure if I have talked about the Polston family yet but they are wonderful! The dad is a member and the wife and their three children are not. They have two boys with a girl in the middle, so I feel right at home! They are all so fun and we love them! They had a lot of fun and it was good to for them to get to know the Bishop! Nikki the mom has been taking the lessons for awhile but we never knew how much she actually knew who how interested they really were. But this week we saw so many miracles with the family and it was incredible! Tuesday night was the kickoff with the bishop teaching the restoration. She understood it so well and asked some great questions. It was so cool to hear someone else teach the restoration and I learned so much! Nikki explained that she has been praying and praying about it but just doesn't feel like she is getting an answer. A while back she was even going to church but just stopped because she didn't know if it was right. We were worried she felt a little pressured but it ended up being just right. It was a super fun night!

Wednesday I was on exchanges in Loganville with Sister Palmer. We had fun and it was an awesome day! The highlight of the day was our lesson with Hope. They are teaching this wonderful woman from Jamaica and she has the greatest accent. She told us her story and her faith is incredible. We talked about faith the whole time and the spirit was so strong! It was so cool because the week before we had a Sunday school lesson on faith. Afterwards I was thinking how cool it was that we just talked about faith for an hour instead of a couple minutes while teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ like I was used to now. I wondered what it would be like to just teach faith for the whole lesson and really dive into it like that instead of just scratching the surface. It was so great and perfect for Hope. I love her so much and am so glad she is still in our area so I can see her at church!

Friday we had great lessons with Dylan and Kenny. Dylan has been reading from the Book of Mormon and understanding it pretty well. We read a chapter with him and it was great. We talked about the commandment to study the scriptures and keeping the sabbath day holy! That night we met with Kenny. He is doing great and also reading from the BoM. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and he asked great questions. He was at church on Sunday and loved it!

Saturday morning we had a lesson with a bible referral named Barbara. We taught her the restoration and she said "do I get one of those too?!" Pointing at the BoM and of course we said yes! The spirit was so strong and it was a great lesson! She is so sweet and really interested! Then that night we met a new less active named Hazel. She is the cutest little southern lady and I love her so much! She was so happy to see us and just couldn't stop laughing. I love the south so much! She had lost her BoM in a move so we gave her a new one and she was so happy! I'm so excited to visit her more and help her come back to church!

Sunday was an incredible day! Church was about to start and then we saw the Polston family walk in!! Not just him but Nikki and Finley came too. It was such a miracle and we couldn't believe it! Keiren and Kenny came too and we had a wonderful testimony meeting! That night we had a great lesson with the Polston family! We taught them the plan of salvation and it went so well! They asked so many great questions and the kids were so into it! When we had Finley who is 12 read 2 Nephi 2:22-25 (about the fall) he said "oh so if they didn't the fruit then we wouldn't be here and heavenly fathers plan wouldn't have gone through!" It was so amazing! Nikki told us while we walking out that Olivia wants to be baptized they just don't feel like she is ready quite yet and so they are so glad we are teaching them! It was so great and we couldn't stop smiling all night.

I love being a missionary! This is the lords work! The Book of Mormon is true. I'm so grateful for this time I have to be a missionary! Thank you so much for all you're love and support! I couldn't do it with you! Have a blessed week! I love y'all!

Love, Sister Hosman🍑

This is Hazel, isn't she the cutest?

It may be hot, but it sure is beautiful!

M❤️NR❤️E!!