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My Testimony of Alaska

Tuesday, March 6, 2018


Hello hello fam + friends ๐Ÿ’•
My heart is all over the place.
This doesn’t even feel real, and it probably won’t feel real until I’m sitting on an airplane in a few days headed back home to you. And even then.
Before I leave, I wanted to leave with you my testimony of Alaska. It doesn’t even cover half of it all, but I figured I need to share.

There will always be a hole the size of Alaska - all 665,000 square miles of it - in my heart. I don’t think that I will ever be able to express what Alaska means to me. As I’ve worked to try and put into words what I have felt, what I have learned, and how I have grown over the past year and half; there are no words to adequately express it all. 

When in doubt, turn to the scriptures.
I’ll borrow the words of my good friend, Alma.
“Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel...Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people...I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.”

In deciding to serve a mission, I didn’t know how much I would learn about my Savior. Or about God’s endless and limitless love for every single one of His children. I didn’t think I’d learn so much about who Caitie Dunlop really is and who she could become. I didn’t know I could come to love the random strangers I met on their doorstep so much. Or that Heavenly Father wouldn’t just bless me with investigators and members of the Church that I would come to love so dearly, but that He would surround me with Elders and Sisters who would change my life.

I remember that my first day as a missionary in Alaska was amazing. It was so amazing that on our drive back to the apartment that night, I called President Robinson and told him that I loved it so much that I’d never go home and that he could go ahead and pass that info. along to my family #greenies ๐Ÿ™„☺️

And now, here we are.
My mission has been SO good. I could go on forever & ever talking to you about all of my Alaskan adventures. But at the end of the day, it’s all about Christ. “As you invite others to come unto Christ, you come unto Him yourselves”. I could just end it there and say amen - but I talk too much so hang in here with me for just a little longer. 

I could go back and pinpoint every place I've been called to serve, every missionary I've been privileged to know and serve with, both of my mission presidents & their wives, every lesson the Lord has taught me, and every miracle and tender mercy I've witnessed - they all have brought me closer to Christ. Spiritual truth I’ve learned over the past 18+ months: God blesses us with people. I was so excited to teach Alaskans but in all reality, they were the ones that taught me the most. They shaped me. I love these bearded, snowmachine riding, Xtra Tuf wearing, hunting + fishing + loving every day people. I love them with all my heart. They’ve taught me more than I ever could’ve taught them. Thank you. 

“I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.” - Alma 29:9
Want to know one of the reasons I know that God’s love is real? It’s because despite my flaws, mistakes, weaknesses, fears, and imperfections He allows me - Sister Caitie Dunlop - to be an instrument in His hands. That’s love. I’m not the sharpest instrument, but He still loves me and He still allows me to be a microscopic part of His great work and of His great plan. He sharpens me. He helps me to become. And I love Him for that.

There’s more, so much more. But I don’t have the words to write it and you most likely don’t have the time to read it. Here’s a last few things: I love Alaska because this is where I came to know without a shadow of a doubt that God loves us, He continues to speak to us, that the Book of Mormon is truth and will bring more light + love + joy into our lives as we study and apply it. We are children of God and because He loves us, He has created a plan that is centered on Jesus Christ that enables us to return to live with Him again. Joseph Smith is a prophet, he has to be - look at what he has done for us. God will never ask us to do something impossible because He gives us all the tools we need as we go & do. God. Loves. Us. Did you know that?! His love is amazing and powerful and inspiration and healing. He loves us more than we could ever imagine.
So much goodness.

I don’t know what else so... 
Thanks Alaska, it’s been real ๐Ÿ˜˜
Love, Sister Dunlop


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