Day 19: Good News! I Failed!

by Annie Pierpoint

I’m sure, dear readers, that you have been anxiously awaiting news of the potholes. I am pleased to report that I have been an epic failure at re-paving the roadways of the Dominican Republic. I will leave them just as I found them – ragged, dangerous, and full of trash.

The Annie from January 7th would react to this news with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. She would declare the whole trip a failure because she hadn’t achieved this ridiculous goal and many others. I have not fed all the children, rid the government of all its corruption, memorized every Spanish word, or started a sex-positive feminist revolution. Go figure.

There was no sex-positive revolution in this
Roman Catholic catechism textbook ...

So what have I been up to? What are the deep, poetic conclusions to tie up with a pretty bow and save for future sermons? I dunno. I mean, I’ve been talking to my boyfriend over Skype a lot, which to a perfectionist like me means I’ve been ignoring the Dominican people and not practicing my Spanish. But as Andrew sweetly and gently reminded me, our nightly check-ins afforded me an opportunity to process my experiences. He observed that I have “allowed real transformation” in myself, and ended with: “I don’t know how you would have been able to do anything more than what you have done.”

Be still, my little perfectionist overachiever heart – I think I’ll keep him.

But I digress. The deep, poetic conclusion I’ve reached (with the help of others) is that over the last three weeks I have taken a first step. It’s been more like a first date, actually. My initial interactions with the Dominican Republic were awkward, but we both approached the table with open hearts and we got to know each other a little bit. I would definitely go on a second date.

In other words, beloved Episcopop readers, my grand achievement is that I let in as much of the Dominican Republic as my little heart could handle. And—miracle of miracles—I set aside my own agenda for a little while and listened. As soon as I quit griping about potholes and my privilege, I met wonderful people. I started wondering how I could serve them.

I didn’t master every word of Spanish, resolve socio-economic inequality, start a revolution, or build a hospital. Rather, I have utterly failed to meet my own expectations. Thanks be to God!