Faces of Calvary: Meet Bonnie & Hannah

Each month, we introduce you to two or three women you might see around church but perhaps haven’t had the chance to meet.  This month, you get to meet mother and daughter, Bonnie & Hannah, and get a glimpse into their life on the farm.  

Meet Bonnie Kosmicki

Share a core childhood memory and how you ended up in Pine Island.

A core childhood memory is the family eating breakfast at the table together every Sunday after church and listening to Polka songs. My dad loved polka and I can’t help but think of him whenever I happen to hear polka.

Theron and I have been married 40 years.   My career was in nursing. My first nursing job after graduating was in the Neonatal Intensive Care and Newborn Nursery units at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I then worked many years in a treatment center with chemically dependent adults and adolescents. Theron and I were house parents in a group home for post treatment adolescent girls for several years. And then at the end of my career, I retired from the Federal Medical Center in Rochester after 28 years of service. TJ is retired also and spends time in the shop creating metal, decorative folk art. 

Our family consists of our miracle daughter Hannah (another “God’s hand was in it” story), a most wonderful son-in-law Joshua and various species of animals. We are all living on a farm south of Pine Island in perfect harmony, generally speaking, most of the time : ) God’s hand was without a doubt what brought Theron and me to Pine Island in 1988. It’s kind of a long story, but suffice it to say, we are where we are meant to be at this moment. 

What are you are passionate about?

I am passionate about doing my very best to make sure people I am around feel included. It is so lonely feeling like you are always on the outside looking in. I am passionate about praying for family members who have yet to know Jesus as their Savior. I am passionate about learning how to completely surrender, to give my life and talents to the Lord for His use and His glory. I am very, very much a work in progress in this area. 

What is your favorite time of day?

I like the quiet, stillness of mornings sitting with a fresh cup of coffee mentally planning my day and deciding what needs to be accomplished.

Describe yourself in five adjectives.

Hard worker, brave – but yet -, insecure, lover of hugs, seeking

Name three things you consider yourself very good at.

Cleaning, Organizing, Riding horses

When was the last time you did something for the first time? What was it?

Last summer. Rode a bull – a steer actually, but same thing pretty much. 

What do you enjoy about Calvary and where do you serve?

From my vantage point the leaders in the church approach their responsibilities with humility and seeking the Lord and not their own agendas, and they are willing to hold each other accountable. Calvary does not stay stagnant, there is constant, consistent evaluation and willingness to change and not hold on to things just because that’s what has always been done. I appreciate the approachability of pastors and others in leadership positions. I enjoy worship and hearing fellow sojourners sing and worship the same God; it fills me up. I am very much enjoying Pastor Kyle’s teaching and preaching.

I have been a part of the Compassion Counseling Center in various roles for probably around 10 years. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate Calvary’s ongoing, generous support of this ministry. Lives are literally changed through 1:1 biblically-based lay counseling. There are so many hurting people and we get to reach out and be a part of helping bring them to a place of peace and healing. 

I like working in the kitchen and help with preparing and serving meals.

I am feeling convicted to start to participate in the youth program this fall. The cultural shift in our country is so evident and the pressure is on to take youth down a path to destruction and I don’t think we can sit idly by any more. 

Meet Hannah Walters

Share a core childhood memory.

One of my huge core memories is when I went to my friend’s cabin up north in Namakan Lake. Sometimes Mrs. Grout would say “it is only going to be family going to the cabin this year.” I would be devastated because I thought that meant I couldn’t go. Two days before they would be leaving, Mrs. Grout would call and tell me to get my duffle bag over there to get packed. I would ask “I thought it was only family?” She would tell me “You are family! Get your stuff over here, dummy!” 

The cabin was so close to the border of Canada, we had to be careful where we were fishing to not go over the border. We were completely isolated. The closest town was 2 hours away and there was no cell service, no electricity, and the only running water we had was lake water in a tank up a hill. We had to haul in all the food we needed for 2 weeks.

The very best part was when we went tubing. Mrs. Grout was ruthless! It was her goal to dump us off as many times as possible!  You had to have a good grip to stay on!  At night we would all sit around the living room and go through a bible study. Usually it would be by Chip Ingram or Gary Chapman. I learned about the 5 love languages at the lake! In the mornings, Mrs. Grout would make German pancakes. They were super thin pancakes that you would put sugar or syrup in the middle then roll it up to eat it.

Unfortunately we can’t go to the cabin anymore. Several years before I started going with, the state parks were trying to buy up all of the personal cabins on the lake to “get it back to nature”. Mrs. Grout’s mom ended up selling the cabin back to the state and they gave her a lease of 30 years. After that expired, they would come in and destroy the dock and burn the cabin. The lease expired a few years ago and I still think about the cabin every year around the 4th of July. 

Tell us about your life.

I have lived in the Rochester area my whole life. I was adopted at birth and some of my birth family lives in Rochester. I see them every once in a while. My adoption was definitely led by God because of all of the tiny details and people that were in the perfect place at the perfect time. I went to multiple different schools and eventually did 1 semester of college at Cedarville University. I met my husband Joshua in March 2016. After getting to know each other through a short courtship (only 28 days!), he proposed at the Rochester Bull Ride in July. We were married 4 months later in November.

We currently live in Pine Island on my parents’ property. We built a bull riding arena and plan to start a beginner bull riding arena. All of our bulls have been hand picked because they are docile on the ground and don’t attack the riders when they fall off. This reduces the amount of risk for everyone involved, including when we aren’t bucking and are out in the pasture getting horses! I love the group of bulls we have right now, and we will hopefully be adding more in the future!!!

What are you passionate about?

I am very passionate about having good relationships and friends. All my life, I’ve had friends that only wanted to be friends with me because of what I had or what I could do for them. So recently I have been careful about choosing my friends more wisely and surrounding myself with people who want to be friends- not just use me.

I am also passionate about helping others. I always want to try to go over and beyond to help solve other people’s problems.

What is your favorite time of day?

My favorite time of day is after everyone is asleep, usually after 11pm to around 3am. I can have personal time to unwind. Working in customer service is very draining for me. I enjoy helping people, but I am an introvert so conversing with people over the phone or in person all day is difficult, and if the customer is upset, it will drain my energy very quickly as I scramble to try to solve the problem. Sitting in the dark when it is quiet is very peaceful. I can do whatever I want with that time without feeling guilty that I am not being productive.

What are five adjectives that describe you?

Loyal, competitive, adventurous, contemplative, and skeptical

What are three things you’re good at?

I would say that I am decent at horseback riding, decorating, and organizing (doesn’t mean it STAYS organized)!

What was the last thing you did for the first time?

I recently bought a new horse. I’ve bought new horses previously but this time was definitely different. Usually I go visit the horse and ride it before buying, but this time I found a horse that seemed to be perfect for what I wanted, and I felt at peace about buying him without seeing him in person. It can definitely be a gamble because the seller could lie about the horse or scam you for money. By the time you find out that the horse isn’t what you wanted, you’ve already given them all the money. But this time, I decided to take my chances and buy him. I didn’t even see him until after work. I am really hoping that taking this gamble will pay off!

What do you appreciate about Calvary and where do you serve?

I’ve gone to a lot of different churches. What I like about Calvary is that it has both a large and small feel to it. It is large enough that not everyone knows your life story and everything you’ve struggled with in the past, yet it is also small enough that you form great friendships. Sometimes in large churches I feel like there’s so many people that one face blurs into another and you don’t make an effort to get to know people.

I also love the worship that we have. It is a perfect blend of traditional and modern. We aren’t stuck singing hymns every week! I am part of Dorkham’s 9:00 worship team with Jill Pearson, and I feel so blessed to be able to sing with someone that I have looked up to my whole life!