[General] They shellacked the loaf.

[rodgers white]

What does "They shellacked the loaf." exactly mean here?
And why have Pence’s friends called Karen his “prayer warrior”?

Thanks in advance.
**********************
While in law school, at Indiana University, Pence met and married Karen Batten, a schoolteacher whom he had noticed playing guitar in a church service. A friend at the time, Dan LeClerc, told me, “He was head over heels.” Pence took her ice-skating; she made him taco salad for dinner. Soon, anticipating a proposal, she began carrying in her purse a gold cross with the inscription “Yes.” Eight months after they began dating, he asked her to marry him, having buried a ring box in a loaf of bread that he’d brought on a walk, ostensibly to feed ducks. They shellacked the loaf. Pence’s friends have called Karen his “prayer warrior.”

-New Yorker

Source

 

[rodgers white]

When I searched the pictures for "get the bread shellacked" on google, I found the above picture by accident. Now I come to realize that they preserved the loaf by shellacking it as a keepsake. But I still don't know what a shellacked loaf looks like and why Pence’s friends have called Karen his “prayer warrior”. Could anyone be kind enough to show me a picture and tell me how to make a shellacked bread? And what does "prayer warrior" exactly mean here?

 

[GoesStation]

I imagine that prayer warrior is a term from American fundamentalist Christianity. In that context, I would understand Pence to believe that his wife engages in metaphorical battles on his behalf by praying.

 

[rodgers white]

I imagine that prayer warrior is a term from American fundamentalist Christianity. In that context, I would understand Pence to believe that his wife engages in metaphorical battles on his behalf by praying.

I really appreciate your help. I've also found the following explanation about "prayer warrior" online:

Prayer warrior is a term used by many evangelical and other Protestant Christians to refer to anyone who is committed to praying for others.Within the context of Dominion theology, prayer warriors see themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.Prayer warriors may pray for individuals, or for entire states or regions. One recent development has been prayer undertaken by groups of people flying over the areas for which they wish to undertake intercession.During the Iraq War, one aspect of the debate over U.S. involvement was a "prayer battle," with one side praying in support of the policies of the Bush Administration and the other taking an anti-war stance. Alabama Governor Bob Riley urged his constituents to act as prayer warriors, and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue designated a three-day prayer weekend that he cast as a spiritual battle. Although most "prayer warriors for peace" were identified as Christians, Muslims in the U.S. and Indonesia were also said to have taken part.Sarah Palin, the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party in the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, regularly acknowledges the support of prayer warriors in her speeches and interviews, and has spoken of them as offering a "prayer shield." As a candidate, she thanked prayer warriors for their support and spoke of divine intervention in the election as a result.

 

[Matthew Wai]

"Prayer warrior" translates as 「代祷勇士」in your native language.
The translation is commonly used in my city.

 

[rodgers white]

Could anyone be kind enough to show me a picture of some shellacked bread or tell me how to make it?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Your question has nothing to do with language but to do with preservation.
Having googled for hours, I found the following:

'I've never done this but as far as varnishing goes, you will want to dry the bread as much as possible by leaving it in a warm (150-200 degrees F) oven until it is very hard. Then spray with varnish or paint with shellac. The dryer it is, the longer it will last.'—quoted from https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf394146.tip.html

'My wife made a costume for Burning Man out of bread, and we dealt with this very issue by letting the bread dry out, and then spraying it with shellac / varathane / something like that.'—quoted from http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=169698

 

[rodgers white]

Your question has nothing to do with language but to do with preservation.
Having googled for hours, I found the following:

'I've never done this but as far as varnishing goes, you will want to dry the bread as much as possible by leaving it in a warm (150-200 degrees F) oven until it is very hard. Then spray with varnish or paint with shellac. The dryer it is, the longer it will last.'—quoted from https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf394146.tip.html

'My wife made a costume for Burning Man out of bread, and we dealt with this very issue by letting the bread dry out, and then spraying it with shellac / varathane / something like that.'—quoted from http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=169698

I really appreciate your help. We Chinese seldom varnish a loaf of bread as a keepsake, so it's hard for me to understand what "They shellacked the loaf." exactly means. Thank you again for what you have done for me, my friend.

 

[Tarheel]

I would imagine that Americans don't do it very often either.