Hey! DUDE WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED AT HOME?! FOR REALZIES?!! Holy shooooooot. The world is ending down there. Anyways, it was kind of a weird week up here. Sister Pike was sick for the first part of the week and so we had pretty chill days visiting people that talked our faces off. Alaskans can chat. Forever. Awesome! Side note: homegirl Mama Laura sent me a keyboard for my iPad and it's super fun to type on (and it keeping my fingers warm) so this is probs going to be a long email. Sorry. You can just skip to the photos if you want, that's what I would do. But, here we go:

We had amazing chicken tacos with Christina and Dylan this week. I don't know what it is about tacos and Alaskans, but they make some real good tacos. What a blessing. We thought that their husband/dad was going to eat with us but after we finished eating, he came in the door from work and as soon as he saw that we were there, he just went upstairs and took a shower. Super awkward. Like you could've cut the awkward with a knife. So we left. It wasn't that bad, but it could've gone a lot better/worse too I guess.

We go and do service every Friday afternoon at the Pioneer Home and play Bingo with elderly people. It's service because we just sit next to them and help them find the number/letter combo the Bingo caller called. It's a good time. I sit with this lady named Candy and we lose hardcore every time- we've literally never won. On Friday after the first few games of us totally losing, she leaned over to me and was like, "I think if I just crawl under this table and die I'd be more likely to win than just sitting here. I'm not coming back next week, I'm done playing Bingo". Then took her little walker and peaced.

Frozen Fran. Our Jeep's name is Fran (I think I've told y'all that before) and she was frozen solid Sunday morning. Like nothing was going to start her. So we called our YSA homegirl to come and save us and she dropped us off at church because her ward didn't start until later in the afternoon. We were like 30 minutes late and church was only two hours long because it was -38 outside. *AK rule: if it's -40 or colder church is cancelled all together, in the -30s it's just two hours, and if it's -20 or warmer, it's all three hours. Also, all the military dads/husbands are back from NTC now so it looked like there was a totally different ward in 5th ward during sacrament. Super cray. I get to go meet all of them because they've been gone since I have been in Fairbanks.

After church one of our ward missionaries told us that she had jumper cables in her car and that she could take us back to our apartment and help us jump poor frozen Fran. She told us she was driving her friend’s car because her truck died at UAF yesterday. We were like, "whatever we don't care" because we were just glad we didn't have to walk a zillion miles home in -35 or something. We go out to the parking lot and it's the ghettoest ghetto little car crammed full of snowboarding stuff and it smelled like weed, like lots of weed...killer. So we get to our apartment and she has super short cables so she pulled around to the front side of our car but was still too far away then her borrowed-weed smelling-snowboarder friend's ghetto car got STUCK in the three inches (max) of snow that was on the ground. Like stuck, stuck. It was ridiculous. Then we spent half an hour freezing our faces off (our eyelashes were all frozen and we couldn't feel our fingers) trying to rescue this ghetto car out of a tiny patch of snow. We eventually got it-after digging it out with the sharp edge of our window scrapers and pushing it. She pulled the sketch car around and we put our car in neutral and pushed it out so that the short little jumper cables could reach from her car to Fran #girlpower. We hooked up our cars and then for the next 45 minutes tried to start Fran. It wasn't going to happen. So she was like, "maybe it just needs to warm up," and then she left. IT'S NOT GOING TO WARM UP UNTIL LIKE AUGUST WE ARE IN FAIRBANKS! It was super nice of her to drive us home and try to help us though haha. About an hour later the first counselor in the bishopric and his wife came (praise them!!) to try and save us but to no avail. He told us that it was something more than just needing to have the car jumped. So they left and we called our AAM car guy and told him what was going on then he told us to go to the car place tomorrow and have them take a look at it. But we can't drive the car anywhere. The Zone Leaders came and tried to save us but they couldn't fix it either (PS please remember it's like negative a billion degrees outside). Then the elders in Badger Road called them because their truck wasn't starting either so the Zone Leaders left us to go and help them way out there and they took our car keys with them. We were just stranded. Our homie first counselor and his wife came and got us and we went over to their house for dinner and then they drove us over to the church so we could teach our "Preach My Gospel" class to the few kids that showed up despite how freaking cold and dark it was outside. Then they dropped us off back at our apartment and we are just having the 2nd ward sisters drive us around today because we are currently car-less. It's a good time. We don't really know what to do so the Zone Leaders are figuring it all out. Cars hate me.

This upcoming week: it's supposed to be like +25 degrees on Wednesday and I'm pumped out of my mind! THAT'S ABOVE ZERO. LIKE A LOT. I don't think I've been in weather that warm since October in Anchorage #tendermercies. We get our transfer calls on Thursday night, so that should be exciting. With the way my transfer calls have gone so far, I'll probably get another companion next transfer (boo) or get another "One & Done" bump to a new area. I've had a new companion every transfer so far...what the heck Dunlop. I freaking adore Sister  Pike! We've had so much fun together and have seen so many awesome miracles here. But she was trained in Fairbanks 5th and then I came up and greenie broke her- so she's been here for a while and I think she's about ready to head down south where the sunlight is in Anchorage or something. What else for this week? Oh! Elder Arden, of the 70, is coming up to the AAM this weekend for a mission tour and he's flying up to Fairbanks with President & Sister Robinson for our zone conference on Friday. That's going to be super duper awesome. I think that's about all I've got. Sorry it wasn't very exciting- just a frozen cold car, a little Bingo, and some chicken tacos with Dylan and Christina really. Anyways, love y'all. Peace & blessings xoxo/Sis. Dunlop

Here's a lame selection of photos from this week:

ARCTIC WARRIOR

Hey peeps.

Sister Pike & I somehow survived another week up here in this frozen land they call Fairbanks. It was above zero a couple of times, so that was a perk. Also, there's a little girl in our ward who is a Girl Scout and so we scored some Thin Mints and Samoas from her this week #blessingsonblessings.  

Missionary work wise, it's been super duper awesome (*knock on wood to not jinx it). There are so many miracles and awesome things that are happening right now. Fairbanks 5th Ward freaking rocks. Christina and her nine year old son, Dylan, came to church yesterday and stayed the whole time with us! Dylan goes to school and tae kwan do (is that how you spell it? I have no idea...so sorry) with a bunch of kids in his Primary class and during the opening hymn for Sacrament Meeting was like, "Mom, when am I going to go and get wet like the Sisters said I could?". I died. He's so excited to be baptized in a few weeks with his mom! We are super excited too. Christina & Dylan invited us over for dinner later this week and we are going to finally meet their husband/dad there and hopefully that goes well. He isn't interested in learning more about the Church (yet) and doesn't totally support Christina & Dylan's decision to be baptized (yet) so we're hoping this isn't terribly awkward. We met with Ryan, the guy living in his car, again and he told us how he wants to meet with someone "higher up" in the Church food chain than just us little sister missionaries to learn about the gospel. Even though our missionary job is teach the gospel. Whatevs. He was astonished (big word, go Dunlop) to hear that people actually get baptized after meeting with the missionaries. Crazy, I know...I guess the gospel must really be true or something. We don't quite know if we are going to keep teaching him or not. We think he's just curious more than he is wanting to actually do something with the things we are teaching him. We're passing him on to Bishop Bolland to call the shots I'll keep you updated from there.

We've also been meeting with Aaliyah, who is a nine year old that was fostered and then adopted by this super cute member family, and teaching her the missionary lessons. She finished all of them and is wanting to be baptized on the same day as her friend in another ward and so that should be happening pretty soon. Woo! There's another family in our ward, the Auamau's, and the dad is not a member but he comes to Church every week and he is totally a Dry Mormon. The transfer before I came to Fairbanks, he said that he would think about being baptized and so every time we go over for dinner, Sister Pike and I sneak in a missionary lesson. He only needs two more before he's had all of them! We don't know how to be like, "hey so baptism...?", without it being really awkward so we're still figuring that one out haha. But he's super awesome and his kids rock and I'm a huge fan of their fambam.

Other stuff really quick that I can't remember if I've told you or not: we've started teaching a Preach My Gospel class for the youth in our ward and it's sweet! The youth in Alaska are so cool! We go and do Family History with a group of the recent converts in our ward so they can take their family names to the temple #dressedinwhitetwice and it's way fun. Luckily there are ladies in there to tell me how to do Family History because I'm so clueless. We rolled out a brand new Fairbanks 5th Ward mission plan yesterday and it's way, way awesome and we are really excited that we can get it rolling in the Ward now. 

We had Zone meeting this weekend and President & Sister Robinson flew up to do interviews too. It was also President's birthday on Friday and he rolled up in a cherry red rental convertible something something (I need the elders here to tell me what kind of car whatever it was) car and he walked into our meeting pretty pumped about it haha #happybirthdaypresident. During interviews, President told us that it takes a special set of tough sister missionaries to brave a winter in Fairbanks. We laughed but in reality, we just wanted to cry because we are so sick of being frozen all the time. Then President laughed as he told me, "Sister Dunlop, I don't know what kind of joke a God is playing on you making you start your winter in windy cold Palmer and then finish it out in Fairbanks...". Haha too true, too true. The other day Sister Pike & I daydreamed about what it's going to be like this summer when we don't have to bulk up and put a zillion layers on to survive the thirty second walk from car door to front door. It's going to be great #pumped #stoked #yayforthesunshine. Part of the area we cover is on the military base and every time we drive in, there's a big huge sign that says, "Fort Wainwright: home of the U.S. Army's Arctic Warriors". We think it's pretty funny (missionaries think everything is funny) and always joke about being sister missionary Arctic Warriors. It's true though! I'm so excited for when the temperature gauge doesn't have a negative sign on it. Anyways, that's my life right now. It's awesome, no complaints. Just cold. But what else is new with Dunlop? Nothing. Anyways, love y'all. Stay warm down there. Peace and blessings. 

xoxo Sister Dunlop

WARMISH

Hey hey hey. You guys. It was above zero for a hot sec this week. And by a hot sec, I mean for one day. But whatever, it's the small things when you're a missionary.
Also, it was a miracle week. Sister Pike and I decided to teach at least two lessons everyday (which is a big dream goal here in AK) and we taught like fifteen. Crazy. We're teaching this dude that lives out of his car (we meet with him at Barnes and Noble and it's a little sketchy so we bring the sixth Ward elders with us), Christina and her son are getting baptized soon, we are teaching the dad of an active family and he's not a member [yet] but comes to church every Sunday, and there's just awesome stuff happening in the Fifth Ward. So pumped.
Also, Sister Treu and I got the worst colds ever on our exchange this week. We died. Shoutout to Vicks and tissues because somehow we made it. Here are some videos to make up for this uber short email, sorry peeps love ya.

xoxox Sister Dunlop

 

COLD

Dearest friends and family and everyone ever,

As I have frozen my fingers and toes off this week, I think all my thoughts have bubbled down to this...WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER LIVE IN FAIRBANKS, ALASKA IN THE WINTER?! IT'S A JOKE!! WHY WOULD YOU LIVE LIKE THIS?! YOU CAN'T. IT'S INSANITY. HAHA! Anyway, it was -63 degrees at one point this week #livingthedream. Cold. PS shoutout to Sister Allie Winter because it's like 130-140 degrees warmer in her Alabama mission than it is up here. What. The. Heck. Where. Am. I. I. Am. Frozen. 

Tuesday it was warm enough for us to go out (our mission has a rule set by President Robinson that we have to stay in if it's colder than -40 degrees because our cars don't work very well when it's that cold haha) and it was only on the -20s. After our district meeting and lunch (and a ping pong tournament) that morning, Sister Pike and I went to a member's house and shoveled their driveway and front porch steps while they were at work/school #secretservice. It had dropped to the -30s by then (because the sun had gone down) and we were out there for about two hours shoveling haha. Once you’re out long enough, everything is just numb and stinging so you just keep on keeping on because you can't even feel it. It's so cold that it hurts to breathe here though and so you have to always have your mouth and nose covered when you go outside. Awesome. But awful. Then we drove around visiting some people (trying to get into their houses and warm up haha) and then had a lesson with our investigator, Christina, who is on date to be baptized in February. She's super awesome and is really excited about the gospel, but her husband is not a fan so that makes it hard. After our dinner appointment, it was -39 outside and our Zone Leaders told us all to go home for the night. Little did we know, we would be stuck at home for the next 2 1/2 days!! It was in the low (high?) -50s on Wednesday and Thursday so President Robinson told all the Fairbanks Zone missionaries to stay in. At first, we were super pumped. We took naps, cleaned our apartment, made cookies, watched just about every movie on the Gospel Library app, planned for world domination this transfer, etc. But then by the second day, we were going to lose our minds. We even had the Zone Leaders bring us Monopoly - I hate Monopoly, but we were getting desperate. Then we found a 1000 piece puzzle and did that- Sister Pike & I hate puzzles. Then our apartment complex's fire alarm started going off but there was no way we were going outside at -281739 degrees, so we called our Zone Leaders and asked them what to do and Elder Younger was like, "just stay in and you'll be fine,". So we did. Even though the alarm went off for like 1/2 an hour. We think it was just a drill because we didn't smell any smoke. What a brutal time for a fire drill. Who does that?!

Friday afternoon it was finally above -40 (but not by much haha) and we FINALLY were allowed to go out and be missionaries #freethezooanimals. Our poor little Fran the Jeep was so cold when we started her Friday morning. I don't even know HOW she started. Our district all went and did service at the Fairbanks Food Bank and all the elders looked like they were going to kill their companions haha #toomuchtimetogether #roughdays but they were all good once there was some other human interaction that wasn't with their companion. Oh, elders. Sister Pike and I get SO distracted together and I'm our designated driver and she's the map queen but we almost accidentally drove to Anchorage this week haha.

It was still really cold outside this weekend, and for those of you who are wondering...yes, you can feel the difference between -40 and -30 outside. It still hurts either way though #frozenchosen. We went onto UAF campus to take a picture by the temperature sign thing the other night but it was only -34 so it's not even that dope. Sorry. We shoveled a giant driveway and porch for a member in 3rd Ward with some elders on Saturday and it was probably one of the coldest times I've ever been cold. Sister Pike is from Santa Barbara, CA and so she's cold all the time but this was a super cold kind of cold. The member was super nice and made us chili after we had been out there 5ever #blessings #serviceperks #ihatechilibutwhateveriwasfrozen. Then the elders went back out and shoveled off her roof and made it into giant snow piles that Sister Pike and I jumped off the porch into. It was so deep we almost couldn't get out haha! We only had two hours of church on Sunday (as opposed to the normal 3) because it was -40 outside and then we came back to our apartment and planned a super awesome week of teaching. Way pumped. Then we had to bulk up and go back out for dinner. After dinner, we brought a YW who just got her mission call to Las Vegas out to a lesson with us. We went and taught Aaliyah, a nine year old who's family are members but she was recently adopted, and finished the last of the missionary lessons with her. Aaliyah wants to get baptized with her friend from another ward and so that will probably happen late February/early March. Yay! I have no idea why this email is so long this week, so sorry. But here's my little Sister Dunlop the missionary plug for you...

This is all totally run by God. All these miracles and tender mercies and things that happen each day...it's NOT ME! I'm just here to be His instrument. "Forget yourself and go to work". It's amazing and wonderful and powerful and I wouldn't trade this adventure for the world. I'm in love with being His missionary here in the Alaska Anchorage mission. Every day is learning and growing and becoming and your desires (not Instagram followers, GPA, state record titles, or whatever else) qualify you for this work. "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called". That's the coolest blessing. God requires YOU to be YOU. It doesn't matter that I suck at directions or feel like there are so many times each day when I "word vomit" in lessons or whatever else but I know that I am called to be the Sister Caitie Dunlop I am RIGHT NOW and TODAY, not for the Sister Caitie Dunlop that I will be when I get on the plane and fly home. Heavenly Father expects PROGRESS and not immediate perfection. I am called in my present state to testify of Jesus Christ and of His gospel. I am called to be His eyes, His ears, His hands, and His heart in Alaska. I don't want to be doing anything else with my life right now. Don't get me wrong, there are moments where I crave a Pearl Street Bagel or a drive through GTNP, but I know that this is exactly where God needs me to be right now. This gospel is so happy! The gospel of Jesus Christ is what makes good people great. LOVE is the very essence of this gospel. "It's not about how much you love, it's about how much you are willing to sacrifice because you love". It's all about love - eternal families, the Atonement, the Plan of Salvation, and every little bit of the gospel. It's love. Micah used to always say, "love God & do right". He told us it was his life motto. It's that simple; four words. Love God. Do right. I love the gospel and being able to share it with others is freaking awesome. I love being a missionary! Thank you for being part of my cheer team - I love you guys. Stay warm down there. 

XOXOXOX

Sister D. 

 

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Oh, Fairbanks. Where it's so cold that you have to take in a breath before walking outside, where the sun is up for only three hours a day, where they don't salt the streets because the salt doesn't even do anything, where your eyelashes freeze instantaneously, where everyone leaves their cars running in the Wal-Mart parking lot, where even though it's -38 degrees Bishop Boland still holds three hours of church on Sunday, and where it's just straight frozen up here. It hurts to breathe. But whatever, I love it!

Tuesday morning (at the crack of dawn) we met with the Memory Lake & Colony sisters to shuffle around for transfer logistics. Sister Christian was scheduled to fly down to Juneau later that afternoon, Sister Ouderkirk was going home, and Sister Lake's & my flight up to Fairbanks left at 9am - we kinda had to hustle drive to Anchorage to make it. Christian and Ouderkirk were supposed to drive down in the Lazy Mountain car and Lake and I were going to drive down behind them in the Memory Lake car. But Christian & Ouderkirk ditched us and went to visit some sisters on the way to Anchorage. So they peaced and then it went like this...

Me: "Do you know how to get to Anchorage from here?"

Lake: "Nope, I've only been in Memory Lake my whole mission (side note: Sister Lake and I came out together from the MTC). Do you?"

Me: "Nope."

Lake: "Well, I don't feel good about driving in the snow (it was still dark at 7am and dumping snow) so can you drive?"

Me *trying to be a good person but dying inside: "Sure!"

LOLOLOLOLOL we somehow got to Anchorage after a total whiteout, full on stop on the highway by Beach Lake, and just being so lost #runningonfaith #IthinkIonlycriedtwice #SisterLakecriedtoookay. We also didn't have a phone and had 1/4 tank of gas, so that was awesome. The APs must have had a ridiculous amount of faith and trust in having Dunlop and Lake drive from Wasilla to Anchorage (what the heck doods). Anyways, we miraculously made it to the mission office -20 minutes late, but come on!!- and met Christian and Ouderkirk there (little bitter), loaded up, and boogied to the airport. Our flight was leaving in 45 minutes so we figured we were good, PSYCH. As we loaded our baggage (also looking for Elder Dimmik because he was supposed to fly up to FBX with us), the airport man told us we had missed our flight *PANIC/WANT TO CRY/DUH WE MISSED IT/APs HAVE SO MUCH FAITH SORRY WE DONT KNOW HOW TO ADULT/NOW WHAT. But he was super nice and re-booked us for the next flight that was leaving in an hour and a half so we loaded our stuff on the baggage thingy, got new tickets, still wondered where on earth Elder Dimmik was, went through security, and then Elder Dimmik was sitting right there and was like, "of course the sisters made me miss the flight" bahaha so sorry. PS Elder Dimmik came out with Sister Lake and I too #babiestakeonFBX. Then we had to borrow a rando's phone and call the APs #scary and tell them what happened and whatever whatever. FINALLY we load on the plane (#blessed because I get the window seat) and as we fly over Alaska it just looks like a frozen, barren, wasteland #yayyyyyyy. It was only -20 when we landed and the other FBX missionaries picked us up and we went to the Institute building for pizza and ping pong. Then Sister Pike (oh PS she's my new companion and I ADORE her, she's from Santa Barbra and is freezing all the time haha, she just finished being trained so I'm "greenie-breaking" her) and I went to our apartment and dumped all my stuff. Then we went to Wally World to get food - Sister Pike drove in snow and ice for the first time and it was terrifying, I drive now haha. Then we have just been figuring stuff out all week and how we're going to baptize Fairbanks this transfer #dreambig. It's going to be awesome. Sorry this is a bummer selection of photos this week- we've been busy/iPads hate this cold and only sometimes work yay.

I love y'all! Stay warm xoxox 

Sista Dunlop❄️☃️

 Had to say bye to Martinez on Monday #sadday

Our little baby Jeep, Fran, loves being frozen outside #jokes

This wasn't even the coldest

Sister Pike and I coming to you live because we felt bad that we don't have a pic haha!

I hate thinking of subject lines for these emails :)

This is going to be kinda short but I'll send lots of photos to make up for it.

Last Monday, we pet & fed moose #casualAK with Brother Collins who is a moose biologist in the LM Ward. He and his team also catch reindeer from the Bush - they go out in helicopters, hover over a heard of them and then Brother Collins jumps out and runs after them, catches one, tranquilizes it, loads it in the heli, and takes it back to the lab for research #boss. He's also like 60+ years old so that's way impressive.

We had a gingerbread house decorating contest with our district - totes won. I was also volunteered to represent the Sisters in a sword (pool noodles duct taped around a PVC pipe) duel and battled the Elders on PDay and won #greatness. We had a throw down lesson with Ray because he knows the Book of Mormon is true and that the gospel has been restored but won't get baptized so that's fun. President Robinson called us with transfer calls Thursday night and I'm heading up to FAIRBANKS tomorrow morning to [freeze my face off and] serve with Sister Pike! Way pumped.

Micah has disappeared from the face of the planet so that's pretty lame. We had Zone meeting on Friday and then I was throwing up all weekend and Sister Christian jammed her toe on the desks and the mission doctor told her she couldn't walk for a day so we were stuck in our apartment forever #goodstuff #bonding. For service this week, we helped our recent convert clean her house #hoarder and I thought it was going to lose my mind, but it’s good stuff. She wouldn't throw stuff away! It's okay, we still love her.

Even though I wasn't in Lazy Mountain for very long, I learned a lot about love here. Loving the people, my companions, the crazy elders in our district, and even random people on the street. The gospel is all about love! I've loved this area and am excited for my new icy adventure in Fairbanks. 

Peace and blessings y'all

Love, Sister Dunlop💕

WEEK

Hey peeps. This is going to be short, sorry I love ya.

Here's some rando facts/stories from this week:

Micah's baptism date has been moved (cry, cry, cry).

By the end of January, there will be two and a half more hours of sunlight up here.

We were tracting and someone told us that their neighbor doesn't wave back to them when they wave, so they think they're probably atheists #bahaha.

2017 is my "Black Out" year yayayayay for Sister Dunlop.

It snowed a ton.

We did service and washed dishes that had been sitting in the sink for three weeks and there was so much mold, I don't even want to talk about it anymore.

Transfer calls on Thursday night.

I've eaten so much candy this week, it's a joke.

We have three working light bulbs in our barn apartment so we hung Christmas lights that we stole from bishop's garage.

WE GOT A BUNKBED- our Ward mission leader made it for us *joy tears.

We are going to go pet moose today.

We celebrated the last day of 2016 by eating sketch Panda Express.

Sister Jackie Dean goes to the MTC this week (so stoked - look out NorCal).

I saw a bald eagle every day this week #merica.

I think that's all. I love y'all. Have a sparkly week!💕