With the whimsically titled book “Orchids in a Jelly Jar,” May Bailey Dixon tells the story, by way of letters to home, of a missionary couple serving in a foreign land. The letters span the entire 30-plus years she and her husband were missionaries to Peru, from their appointment in 1967 to their retirement in 1998.
May Bailey and Rodolph DixonAfter her mother’s death in 2000, Dixon and her family were going through her mother’s belongings and discovered every letter she had mailed from Peru. “Going through the letters brought back so many memories that we hadn’t thought of in years,” she said.
Dixon put together a presentation with the letters, reading excerpts at missions conferences. The program was well received, and people encouraged her to turn the letters into a book. In 2005, she completed the first compilation and received some publication offers. After negotiations with a few publishing houses, she said she became discouraged because it would mean releasing the book in a format she was not happy with.
By 2007, Dixon gave up on the idea on publishing the letters and stopped working on the manuscript. Her husband, Rodolph, however, didn’t want to see the project go unfinished. He and the couple’s children worked on finalizing the manuscript. They decided to publish the book privately through a printing company, keeping their plans secret.
In 2008, the family surprised Dixon with a draft of the manuscript for her final perusal and a deal with a printing company and the layout for the book already designed. “I was stunned,” Dixon said. “It was a beautiful gift and a beautiful thing to do.”
The book is a collection of excerpts from letters with occasional commentary from Dixon. The book is not arranged chronologically, but by topics such as “Hard Times,” “Missionary Life” and “Medical Needs.”
For the first 20 years of their missionary career, the Dixons taught at the Peru Baptist Theological Seminary in Trujillo. May Bailey taught music at the seminary and led the seminary choir while serving the music needs of the churches in Trujillo. Rodolph, in addition to teaching at the seminary, served in church development ministries in the area. Their last 10 years in Peru were fully dedicated to a retreat they helped create in 1969, Camp Shiran.
The title, “Orchids in a Jelly Jar,” has several meanings. The theme originates in the first letter Dixon wrote to her mother, in which she described picking a dozen orchids and arranging them in a jelly jar. As she compiled her book, the author was struck by how orchids in a jelly jar can be a metaphor for how God reveals himself by doing the most amazing things (orchids) in the most inopportune places (a jelly jar).
“It always amazed me when I saw that beautiful things could result from even my blundering efforts,” Dixon writes in her book. “In my mind there are so many treasures, like those orchids, found in such mundane sites and circumstances.”
Dixon turned the word “orchid” into an acronym that stands for “Our Remembrances Carefully Held In Distinct Stories.”
The original purpose for printing “Orchids” was to have a few copies to give to family and friends, but it has found a larger audience in the short few months since it was printed. The Dixons have given away or sold more than 500 copies by word of mouth alone.
The Dixons are active members of State Street Baptist Church in Cayce. While they are enjoying retirement, they admit to feelings of homesickness for Peru. “We miss the people, the food – everything. While we enjoy being here, we feel a part of our hearts are still in Peru.”
To order a copy of “Orchids in a Jelly Jar,” contact the Dixons at jrmbdxn@aol.com or (803) 796-6328.