Interpreting the Velveteen Rabbit

We are having such an AMAZING TIME training the interpreters for camp. It is going really well and they are so talented. We have a basic format that we follow for our meetings: something for team development, B!ble study, talk about the Narnia program, and interpreting/ language practice.

Today was interesting because usually the interpreters lead the B!ble study portion as a way to become more familiar with the Book. There was no one signed up for today, so I sorta had to do a lesson on the spot. Most everyone who knows me, knows that I like to be really prepared, but I was at an orphanage for most of the day today and I wasn't completely prepared.

So - we had an AMAZING B!ble study. It was like someone else was speaking for me the whole time. I was actually talking about the resurrection today and how it connects with the part of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when the stone table breaks and Aslan lives again.

I was just thinking about the emotions of the people surrounding Jes^s at this point. The respect, admiration and love they felt and that HE felt for them. So we talked about who we respect, admire and love and how we would feel if something happened to them. It really made the story more real and come alive.

As interpreting practice, we just sort of fell into interpreting the Velveteen Rabbit. So I read the story in English, all of the interpreters have a copy in front of them, EXCEPT the one who is actually interpreting. That person is in the hot seat and is practicing. It's harder than you think. They are learning how to work together with their interpretee and control the pace of the message. They are figuring out how to improvise and create clever ways to say something in Russian when it's hard to describe. In English was say, "lap." In Russian, they translate that as, "the upper part of the legs when the person is in a sitting position." So, sometimes it's a mouthful. Of course, if they're talking to a child and they say, "come and sit on my lap" they just say, "some and sit on my knees" But the specifics are lost.

Anyway, the point of the Velveteen Rabbit is SO awesome. If you haven't read it in a while, please read it again. It's easy enough to find a copy of the text online to read. The part about being Real is my favorite. Being Real isn't easy, it hurts. It doesn't happen in an instant, you Become. But once you are Real, you can never be UnReal.

Let's all strive to be Real in our lives. It's the most important thing we can do. To be vulnerable enough to be loved so that our hair falls out, and that our noses are rubbed off…. That is really living.