Take A Seat at The Walton Arts Center; The Velveteen Rabbit, An Elementary Perspective

Bentonville students and leaders at the Walton Arts Center

On a bright January afternoon in Fayetteville Arkansas, CWE365 participants filled over 60 seats at the Walton Arts Center. A ballet interpretation of the Velveteen Rabbit had elementary aged girls and leaders mesmerized with dance, fun costumes and a whimsical story. Thanks to the generous “Take a Seat” program offered to us by the Walton Arts Center, we were able to provide this unique and captivating experience to young students. Each girl expressed happiness about being given the chance to see dance and story combine into something special. We interviewed one student in particular, Jeslynn of Bentonville, about her take on the ballet.

Jeslynn, what did you like about the Velveteen Rabbit?

“I liked, well my favorite part was when the fairy pops out and turns the velveteen rabbit into a REAL rabbit. So the whole story is that a little boy gets a Velveteen Rabbit for Christmas, right? And then he only plays with it for two hours that day. And then one day when he goes to sleep he couldn’t find the china dog that always slept with him. So the mother, what they call Nana, who was in charge of the toys, tidied them up, cleaned up the boys room, she said “here take your old bunny and that was the VR. So the boy slept with him, first the r felt a little uncomfortable because the boy kept rolling on him, like sleeping on him, squeezing him a little too tight. Then the rabbit got used to it. Now, he’s played with him for summer, winter, spring and then one day the little boy gets sick. And can’t do anything. He had something called Scarlet Fever. Scarlet Fever is a really bad sickness; it is contagious. He gets better. But the Velveteen Rabbit and other things he’s touched have to get burned because they have his Scarlet Fever germs in it. And then the little Rabbit sheds a tear because he doesn’t want to be burned. A flower grows in that spot. And it grows and grows and a fairy pops out! And she turns the Velveteen Rabbit into a real actual rabbit, and he goes off to play with the other rabbits. He comes back to play at the little boy’s house, to see him. The little boy thinks that it used to be the Velveteen Rabbit; That there was something familiar about that little rabbit. He didn’t know that rabbit was the REAL rabbit!”

How can you tell the boy loved the rabbit a lot?

“His fur was being rubbed off, his eyes lost color… the rabbit began to lose shape.”

Why did the Fairy decide to make the VR real?

“Because the rabbit, as I said earlier, was shabby torn losing shape. She could tell the boy loved him very much. The nursery magic told him that he was real.”

Would you have turned him into a real rabbit?

“Probably!”

Would you recommend this to your friends to come see?

“It’s really good, I think my friend would really like it. I have a friend who loved the Velveteen Rabbit…”

Do you think you could ever learn to dance like the dancers in the Velveteen Rabbit?

“Yes… I want to be a drama girl when I grow up… [I would have to] practice hard, get dancing lessons, get funky costumes!”

CWE365 Student Bloggers: Tyler, Rogers Summit

Tyler Navas, a Senior at Roger High School, wrote the following as a reflection on his involvement with Rogers Ozone.

Tyler

Like many other fellow Camp War Eagle campers, I heard Ozone pitched during the closing ceremonies of my session. And what a perfect time to tell everyone! It’s the end of the session and we all wish camp could go for just a little while longer… Thanks to Ozone, it does.

Camp has become such a second home to me that it would have been unbearable not to have some connection with it year round. I began attending the still very young Ozone program in 2006, being held at the Rogers Boys and Girls Club at the time, to see if it was what I hoped it would be. I wasn’t disappointed one bit! I definitely felt as though I was missing something if I didn’t go. Even so, looking back on these early Ozone meetings, it’s amazing to see how much has changed and improved to what it is today.

Above all, this program has strengthened relationships. It’s sometimes unsettling to think of all the amazing people I wouldn’t be close to were it not for Ozone. Ozone is able to attract a group of kids and leaders that are a positive influence on each other. You would be hard-pressed to find a more shining example of Christians treating others like a loving family. The best relationship Ozone has strengthened is the one I have with Jesus (and Jesus’ dad of course!). Sure, I can go to church to have a once-a-week refresher, and then go back to my daily life with my faith on the back burner. But personally, I’ve found that through Ozone, my faith has become more evident and applied to daily life.

The Ozone program has been truly wonderful to me. I mean, who wouldn’t like to have fun, faith and friendship all in one place?

An Intern's Perspective of Ozone: Ryne of Fayetteville

CWE365 has been able to prepare upperclass college students and recent graduates in youth programming through a yearly internship program. Each year the internship program is further developed in order to both lead and challenge these up and coming leaders to impact the community with their gifts and drive. Each city is blessed with a male and female intern to support the program and build relationships with the children of that city. The following is written by University of Arkansas Grad, Ryne Pruitt, who is a CWE365 intern.

Ryne with Fayetteville kids at "Shrek the Musical" this October 

Ozone is Camp War Eagle’s year around vision to help campers develop and sustain good relationships with Jesus Christ outside the camp boundary.  My role as an Ozone intern is to enhance and create a Christ-centered environment where youth of Northwest Arkansas can find ministry for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. 

The opportunities to minister to campers naturally occur so many times throughout the week because of the responsibilities of an intern.  Our week begins at 4:30 on Tuesdays, when we ignite the 15-Passenger Van with the Turbo-Diesel V8 (“THE 15P”).  The journey for my co-intern and I takes us all over town as we pick up 6th-8^th grade students in a race against time to get to Primetime by 6:00.  Thus, we have a solid hour to get to know students and teach them about Jesus.  But our trip does not end there. Our students attend Primetime where they play games, eat, learn about Christ and share with small groups what we talked about in the lesson.  As an intern, I strive to make the environment as fun as possible and facilitate scheduled events to make the best use of our hour-and-a-half with the students.  After we wrap up in small groups and with prayer, we load back up in the 15P at 7:30, pump up the music and take the students home. As the van bounces around the town, we can further discuss the lesson and how it could be implemented in each individual’s life. 

This Tuesday schedule is repeated for Summit on Thursday evenings for high school students, and again for Lifeline on Saturday mornings for Elementary students. Through Ozone, I meet further with students throughout the week at school or in Bible studies. During each event, van ride or Bible study, God provides ample opportunities to develop discipleship relationships with campers and equip them with the encouragement, resources and scripture to love others as Christ loves us.