I
think, by now, I have earned the right to be corny. I’ve done cynical, I’ve
done jaded, burnt out, hilarious, cheeky, and everything in between. Now, it’s my turn to be straight up, over the
top mawkish. Bust out the Kleenex, people. It’s about to get touching.
It all
started with a gut-clenching surprise visit from the mission president. No
matter how good a missionary might be, that’s just how a surprise visit feels. Transfers
were upon us, and President Rahlf came over to my house to tell me in advance
that I was to expect a special assignment. I immediately ran off a list of
names in my head that fit his description, knowing that whatever happened, I
wanted to enjoy my last 42 days. I spent the days after that analyzing the
information I gathered piece by piece, mentally scratching off areas I had been
to and companions I had been with, and then wadded up my lists and threw them
in the metaphorical garbage, knowing literally anything could happen.
Then it
was my birthday, and I started my day with what I will call a combination
prayer and birthday wish. I had actually forgotten to have a proper, kneeling
prayer, and instead opted to pray in the shower, rationalizing that it was
better than nothing. Based on what happened next, I feel like I was right. I
suddenly remembered Elder Zhang, a Chinese national that came to our mission
three months ago. I remember how badly I wanted to train him, but was doing
other things at the time and didn’t get the chance. But now his training was
up, and his companion was transferred. So I prayed that if it was the will of
God, I would be his companion. To be perfectly honest, I all but forgot about
the prayer, and was just along for the ride- knowing that whatever I ended up
doing, I would not be doing for very long. Transfer meeting finally arrived,
and we went to the back like always, me for the very last time. I waited
through the zones, holding my breath to see if my random, not so fervent prayer
would be answered. It was. I suddenly found myself at a loss for words as my
good ol fat picture popped up next to Elder Zhang’s on the slideshow. A
reverent uproar rippled through the room as a lot of good things happened all
at once. Marshall fell to the ground, because I would now be spending my last
cycle in his district. My eyes bulged because I would be spending my remaining
days in Santiago City, and my mouth fell open because God had answered my
prayers. I remember making some sort of shocked sound, and then finding Elder
Zhang and lifting him up off the ground. I was ecstatic for the rest of the
day, and chalked it all up to a blessing from God. President had obviously
gotten wind of the fact that I had lived in China. Most people do. It’s just something
I tell basically everyone. He saw the opportunity, used a combination of logic
and prayer, and put the two of us together. Everyone else was excited too,
because they knew how much my experience in China meant to me. But most people
don’t even know the half of it.
A
little over two years ago, I spent five months as a volunteer English teacher
in Changzhou, China. Like I said before, most people are perfectly aware of
this. But the surrounding circumstances are a little different. I processed my
paperwork at the same time that I was spiritually preparing to serve a mission.
My testimony was new and strong and exciting, basically months old. I met with
my Stake President, and he expressed some concern at me moving to a country
that would hinder or all but prohibit my ability to attend church, and might
therefore adversely affect my mission preparation. I remember seriously
considering what he said, and taking it to the Lord in prayer. I had a feeling
that everything would be fine, and that I might even have some faith promoting
experiences. All of my co-teachers were members of the church, and so I had
opportunities to attend church occasionally in the Shanghai Branch. It was a
great experience that solidified my testimony of the fact that the church is
the same everywhere. But the best experiences I had were while I was teaching.
As a natural consequence of my newfound testimony, I found myself wanting to
share my experiences with others. Because all us teachers were LDS, we would
sometimes use Primary songs for group activities. Nothing religious, just “Popcorn
Popping” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” But it was definitely enough
to bring back my own memories of Primary. I’m a little embarrassed to admit this
so publicly, but there were times that I would get choked up as we would
interact with these kids. I knew that they would likely never get the chance to
hear about the gospel, at least not in this life. So when I was put with Zhang,
I felt a weight of responsibility on my shoulders, knowing that I have the
privilege to help him have a positive mission experience, and possibly become a
future leader of a people that came to mean so much to me. There could not
possibly be a better way for me to end my mission.
And now
for the shocking, Bollywood level twist. I thought all along that I had everything
figured out. President did me a solid; God heard and answered my prayers. It
was really that simple. So imagine my surprise when Zhang and I ran into
President at the grocery store. We were in the checkout line when he dropped
this little bomb on me: “Elder Dixon, I just heard yesterday that you lived in
China for a little while.” He had absolutely no idea, and had decided that
Elder Zhang and I were to become companions, a decision he had surely prayed
about. He didn’t know the facts, so he had nothing to go on but revelation from
God. I was floored. It hit even a guy like me- about a month from going home,
someone who thought they had the whole mission thing figured out, and could
predict the results of a transfer with a list of names, places, and a few
carefully drawn lines. Instead, I got what has been one of the most faith promoting
experiences of my life, and definitely of my entire mission.
