My Testimony:

As a mother of eight, I learned early on how to make ends meet by sewing and crocheting. Almost fourteen years ago while visiting my children and grandchildren in Oregon I decided to make a Victorian bear to match a daughter's home décor. It was a hassle to make and I told myself if I ever made another one I would modify the pattern. That was the end of my bear venture and I had no interest in ever making another teddy bear.

Upon my return flight to my home which was at that time in western New York, a Rhema word that I literally heard said, "You will make teddy bears out of sweaters." The Lord also said that I would have state of the art computer equipment. The last sentence was left hanging in the air.

I remember questioning the Lord saying, "Have you ever cut into a sweater?"

The first bears were primitive but I kept making and giving the bears away. The sweater bears became a passion. I'd get ideas in the night, such as, "Use the cuff for a turtle neck." Four years ago I began hand embroidering the bears. That came about out of my frustration of trying to find enough embroidered sweaters to work with. I had moved from the cold country of western New York to Florida where an abundance of used sweaters is not that easy to find. I use variegated yarns which are like a kaleidoscope, the changes in the embroidered flowers or vines are amazing, no two exactly alike.

As word spread about the sweater bears people began asking me to make bears for them out of their own materials. A co-worker asked me to make a bear out of her son's shirt. The shirt had been hanging in her closet for a long time. When I asked about the color of her son's eyes, she said, "Kelly's eyes were brown. He was killed by a drunk driver four years ago." That bear took on a whole new meaning for me.

My hobby quickly caught on and I was soon barraged with orders for what has become memory bears. One family used a shirt from their loved one who had been a mechanic - grease stains and all. Another woman wanted a bear out of the only things she had left of her mother's - a tablecloth and pair of socks. Who knew what gravy stains would do for a heart that needs healing?

I have received poignant thank-you notes and countless words of appreciation. I have lost count of the memory bears that have passed through my heart, each one special to a family of someone who is loved and missed.

I have also made bears for more lighthearted purposes out of baby blankets and wedding dress. I made a huge bear out of a Stanley Cup commemorative tee-shirt. The bear was as big as a five-year-old. The owner said, "My son will probably take it to the game and it will take up another seat.'"

The memory bears are always in demand but the sweater bears remain my passion. I never get tired of working with each bear and no one is more surprised than me what the bear looks like when it is finished.

I could write a book about the bears, memory and sweater. One of the first ones I made the Lord told me to give it to a woman I'd just met. I had the bear in a child's rocker in the corner of my living room. I argued that the bear was flawed; one side of the head was shorter than the other. Hetold me again to give it to "Linda" and I kept arguing. The third time He said "Give it to Linda" I knew then to obey The Voice.

At that time I used to crochet collars for the bears. The flawed bear bothered me so much I crocheted a very long collar and gathered it around the neck of the bear. It reminded me of those big collars clowns wear. I adjusted the collar so anyone looking at the bear would not notice the flaw.

I took the bear to Linda and before showing the bear to her I shared about restoration, some scriptures about God healing, etc. As I pulled the bear out of the bag she grabbed me. She saw the huge beautiful collar and said "I'm a doily freak."

"But Linda, the bear is flawed," I said as I showed her the difference in the level of the head." She began to cry and said, "Donna, I was born with two fused vertebrae at the base of my skull and one side of my neck has always been shorter than the other." It was the very same side as the bear. Linda is such a vibrant and beautiful woman with long shoulder length hair. I had never noticed that her head tilted to one side, never. That was her bear, an affirmation from God about His love for her.

I was asked to make a bear for a young father who had tragically lost his daughter to a bitter divorce. The child died of cancer when she was 2 years old. The mother would not allow the father or his family to come to the child's funeral. When the child would have been 7 the grandmother heard about my bears. The only material item the father had of his child was an afghan his mother,the grandmother, had crocheted when the child was an infant. The afghan was brought to me through a family member. By lining the afghan I was able to get two bears for not only the father but the grandmother who had made the afghan. They were blessed beyond words that they could have something so precious to hold in their arms to remind them of their baby girl.

I just finished an order of 6 memory bears that will be mailed to Fort Worth, TX. The shirts I made the bears from came from a TX man who died a few years ago of cancer, only in his 40's. When the sister-in-law saw the first bear she took it in her arms and cried. He's been gone 7 years and his memory is still fresh. This is a ministry only God could have put inside of me.

God bless,