Sabbatical Year

I’m back – after a month sabbatical. I took time not to rest, but to PURGE and PREPARE for a sabbatical year in South America. My husband’s job loss in November prompted a soul searching cascade of conversations – conversations with God, conversations with each other and conversations with our kids. When our intuitions are congruent, my husband and I feel affirmed that we are on the right path.

Be it right, it aint easy. We have lived in our house in Asheville for 9 years. We moved here from South Africa when our oldest, Adam, was in kindergarten. This wonderful town and our community have fostered our growth in many areas and given us opportunities to serve in a multitude of ways. Our careers here have been meaningful and the craved stability for our children has been secured. So, why would we leave this – and go to an unfamiliar place, having a skeletal travel plan and only a pocket full of change? Well… Five years ago I began writing Village Wisdom. In an attempt to completely understand the impact that living in Uganda had made on us, I re-immersed into the most challenging 3 years of my life. Reading old letters and journals and revisiting Uganda were critical pieces to recording my sacred journey.  As it turned out, writing and publishing my book was another transformational endeavor. I learned (again!) that in order to blossom fully, one has to face adversity and relinquish control. The process is not always fun, but the shower of blessings, on withered and thirsty ground, makes it worthy beyond human understanding. The “Epiphany” chapters in my book tell the stories that shaped our learning. Lessons about immersion, friendship, materialism, sustainability, judgment, humility and grace – just to name a few- have become the framework for our roles as individuals, parents and global citizens. I have delivered over 100 talks in the past 2 years on these very themes. Its time to pause from talking, and Go Experience, Discover and Engage in life’s next chapter. I hope you will join our journey by following this Blog!

Carrie, Benjamin, Bob and Adam Wagner

We will leave for Ecuador in mid March and return to Asheville in late December, 2012.