Fortune

                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.