The Bead-Attitudes

During our 2009 Mission Trip, Julie Jones came to the Mission House at Edge Outreach to share a devotion with us. Julie does glass-bead making for a hobby/avocation. She has designed a devotional talk which she shares as she makes the beads, comparing the heat and stresses on the glass which eventually produces a thing of great beauty. So many times, it's what we go through, with God redeeming the suffering, which makes us a thing of beauty in His eyes, and very often, in the eyes of the world we seek to serve. Here are some pictures of Julie at work, and the finished product of her labors. (She made enough that night that each team member could have a bead, and she does that for each team that comes through Edge Outreach.) Click on the picture for more detail:

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Notice the glass rods to Julie's right. These rods are heated in an oxygen/propane torch, and the melted glass is applied to thin rods coated with a clay compound (which later softens in water, allowing the beads to be removed from the rod.) The gray paddle is used to shape the bead, and maintain its roundness. A special type of lens in the glasses enables one to see through the flame and see what you're doing. (They also protect the eyes!) Julie says some people are a bit "smart" with her and say, "I can get those at WalMart." Her answer is, "Yes, and no. What you get at WalMart have been made by little girls bent over a torch 8 or more hours a day, paid mere pennies for their labor. Plus, the beads have not been annealed, a process in which the beads (created in 1200 degree temperatures), are held at 940 degrees for a half-hour. This allows any tensions in the bead to relax, so that it won't explode or break at the merest tap. What looks like a wad of aluminum foil is NOT a baked potato, but an asbestos-lined pouch in which Julie places each bead fresh from the torch, so that it won't cool too quickly.

Julie can be contacted at: Simple Grace Jewelry, julie926@insightbb.com, or 502.387.0759, and her website is at simplegracejewelry.etsy.com

Another Long Absence

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If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I guess my path to perdition is smooth as glass. I just realized I hadn't been here since May 26. Lots has happened since then, but what got me out of the habit of blogging THIS time was the kidney stone ... after a blessedly easy recovery from that little setback, there came the 2009 Mission Trip, and then our FLIGHT-W Bible School.

The Mission Trip was a wonderful experience. If those we went to were even HALF as blessed as we were, they aren't able to find their socks (as in "blessed their SOCKS off"!) Our team eventually was composed of 5 adults (James and Wendy Dunham, Julie Stout, Tony Belt, and the pastor), and 8 youth/children (Cody, Shelby, Ryan & Matthew Dunham, Adam Watson, Alex Kirby, Abby Whitney, and Savannah Peek. This 13 was certainly blessed, not unlucky!

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.A couple of days were spent at Christian Communities Center, an assisted living/nursing home complex in Louisville across the street from Spaulding College. In addition to visiting and interacting with the residents, we washed buses, furniture, lawn chairs, and fountains. Here, Shelby Dunham gives a nail polish treatment to a resident ... and even some of the guys on the team got into the act (and did quite well, I might observe.)


From there it was on to Country Lakes Retreat Center for Camp Freedom, a weekend camp/retreat for special needs campers. Some were so high-functioning, we wondered why they were there. Four were totally dependent on their counselors for everything. But the joy in it for me was seeing that, once we got past the superficial things that were "handicaps," it was just like very other session of church camp I've been in ... learning individuals, idiosyncrasies, etc. The most wonderful difference from other church camps is, the LOVE QUOTIENT was even higher than usual! Here's a picture of Cory, with whom Cody worked last year.

The interesting thing for you parents is, the adult volunteers from last year all remembered our kids, and spoke of them in glowing terms. They've really appreciated our involvement with them at Camp Freedom.

I believe many are already planning to return next year! And again, a big THANKS to all of you who supported us in prayer, at fund-raisers, and all aspects of our going. May you be blessed, even as we were!

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