Hello my people. Hope you know how much I love and adore y'all. I seriously do #vblessed.

The beginning of this week was literally a month long, I swear to you. We tracted our brains out trying to find people to teach. We met some super nice people, but none of them were really interested haha #awkward. We're working on better ways to find people to teach, but sometimes we have to put our big girl pants on and knock doors *insert "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson here. Elder Leland also asked me to train in District Meeting last week and I did a training on Kid President haha I'll tell you about it when I get home "...don't stop believing unless your dream is stupid, then you should get a better dream...".

This weekend was the "Bearpaw Festival" down in town and we got to go and help out there which  was sweeeeeeet. IDK what the reasoning for this "festival" is but...not mad. It’s basically like the Fair but there's like street vendors, picnics, parades, boutiques, baseball games, rodeos, etc. It's freaking awesome #goAK. Our district helped out at the Teddy Bear Picnic and for some reason Sister Johnson and I were picked for the bean bag toss so I spent hours and hours picking up bean bags that kids threw at me #loveit. Then we were crowd control for the parade on Saturday morning and got to wear super fashionable neon orange safety vests and walk up and down the street making sure kids didn't get trampled by parade floats. Side note: the Bearpaw Festival parade put the 4th of July one to some serious shame. They had football teams, Irish dancers, scarf people, rock bands, Jeep crews, and all this cool stuff. I even had a [super kind, generous, loving] lady use a [loud and happy voice] at me for "uneven candy distribution". She packed up her camp chair and peaced. Bye Shakira. Then we worked with the Beach Lake sisters and magically pulled together a free lemonade and cookies stand right outside the entrance to Bearpaw #innovativefinding #imsickoftracting. It actually went super well, we passed out a ton of lemonade and cookies and even gave away like five Book of Mormons #goteam.

We cover both Eagle River Valley and Mt. Baldy right? Yes. So yesterday I guess both Bishop Parks and Bishop De Kay thought it would be funny to both impromptu call me up to share my testimony during sacrament meeting #lolnotfunny #freshblood #iactuallydontthinktheyplannedthatbuthey. It was good though. I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase "lift where you stand" and how Heavenly Father does not expect us to be perfect all at once. He loves us and wants us to progress and sometimes (usually) that doesn’t happen over night. But day by day as we lift where we stand, lift those around us, and do the best we can to exude love and inspire greatness in others; that is where we grow - just a spiritual little Sister Dunlop moment for you today xoxo. The people in the wards have started calling me "Sister Cantaloupe" because apparentally my name is the hardest thing ever and so I say "Sister Dunlop, like cantaloupe”. And then it sticks #whateverfloatsyourboat.

Sorry for the lamest selection of photos this week. I don't have Sis. Fa'anunu to take selfies with every day any more #rip. Also, THE JEPSENS (the family that has a big piece of my heart up in FBX) WERE BAPTIZED LAST WEEKEND 💕💔☺️🙃🙌🏼🎉👊🏼. That makes my heart so happy, I adore them. Have a super sparkly week!

XOXO Sis. Dunlop (or Cantaloupe)

The Land of the Free & The Home of the Sun

Hey peeps! Sister Johnson has been working my behind off this week, which is good. But some PDays feel more blessed than others☺️🙃. Maybe being 20 is why I feel so old and tired now #grandma (PS thank you shoutout for all the birthday love yesterday ❤️ I feel so blessed with all you people). The weird thing about being a missionary on your birthday is that it just feels like any other normal missionary day.

Bear sightings report: only one this week. He's this scrawny little dude hanging out in our neighborhood we saw on Monday night. Haven't seen him since so hopefully he's not our dinner tonight #bearmeatisnasty.

I can't remember if I told you this already or not, but we cover both the Eagle River Valley and Mt. Baldy wards. Our areas together are HUGE. The only other sisters' area in this mission that covers two places is Oceanview and the Bush Branch...and I've served there too haha. So anyways, we have a lot of work cut out for us and our teaching pool is looking pretty slim so we've been knocking a hecka ton of doors. Not really the most productive use of time, but we are working on finding balance. Also, Sister Johnson is going home at the end of this transfer on August 10th so she's on a "go big and go home" streak. It's a little cray but whatever. We've been working to ignite the member missionary work in the wards so

we've been revamping the ward mission plans and sharing Missionary Bingo with families, teaching them the lessons, taking them on Chapel Tours, giving them Book of Mormons to give to people, etc. #ignitethemissionaryfire.

How was the 4th? THE SUN BEING UP ALL OF THE TIME IS LAME. But it was an excuse for me to get Sister Johnson to wear her America sunglasses, I forced her to buy, all day with me. She hasn't worn them since and probably won't but I wear them every day #noshame #letfreedomring. There were no fireworks (...sunlight...) and the parade in Chugiak wasn't even .02% as awesome as the one at home. It was just tractors and police cars throwing Smarties. No one even likes

those. But we had dinner with one of my favorite families and ate salmon and halibut that they had caught that morning #soblessed #iamnowafishsnob. Also, the 4th was an excuse for me to wear an

outrageous outfit that only goes together on Independence Day #notmad.

I finally got to meet our new mission president, President Toone, this week! He is so FANTASTIC! We had Chugach zone conference with him and Sister Toone on Friday and it was super awesome. He was a seminary and institute teacher and so we all had a little call to repentance about not remembering all the scripture masteries #oops. He's fab and I'm pumped. 

So yep, there's a billion and one things from Sister Dunlop this week. I hope life is happy and sunny. 

XOXO Sis. Dunlop

I'm Still Alive But I'm BEARly Breathin' - Eagle River, AK

Hi people! In all honesty, I feel like I am running around with my head chopped off. It's a good time but this week has been insane. Leaving Fairbanks was the most bittersweet thing ever on Wednesday morning and I teared up a little bit walking through security at the airport (that was also the first time I had been alone in like ten months so that was probably part of it too). It was so weird to say goodbye to the people who have made such a big influence in my life and people who I have come to love so dearly over these past few months and not really knowing if I would ever see them again #mishlife. Anyways, somehow I got all my stuff crammed into suitcases under 50 lbs and climbed on a plane with Elder Herrick, Laursen, Leland, and Olson headed to Anchorage. Sister Pike and Kimball picked me up and then we headed up to Chugach to transfer swap all the sisters around. It was so happy to see all those people I haven't seen in a billion and a half years. Sister Johnson (my new comp) and I were wearing the same skirt when she came and picked me up so #compunity. We drove up to Eagle River (so pretty, but honestly anything is prettier than Fairbanks...) and sorted my life out before we went to work. It's going to be a bomb diggity transfer kids. And Sister Johnson is going home at the end of it so #gobigthengohome.

Oh, and we had a black bear run across the street in front of us the other day on our morning walk #yayAK. ERV is like crawling with bears right now so that's make tracting really exciting. Hopefully we don't die. And tomorrow is the greatest day of the year and all you Lower 48ers down there better love and enjoy it for me because fireworks don't really work when the sun is up forever. Send me pics. Also, I turn twenty in a hot sec here so if that's not crazy, idk what is. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! ❤️🇺🇸

Hopefully I will be able to figure out these areas this week and be less of a mess so I can have some good stuff to tell you about next week. 

Love you all.

XOXO Sis. Dunlop