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Showing results for tags 'missionaries'.
Found 37 results
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Missionary with bogus medical practice linked to deaths of Ugandan children
NachosFlandersStyle posted a topic in Quiver Full of Snark
Renee Bach was 18 years old and says that she knew nothing about the country when she first went to Uganda, feeling "called by the lord" to go there. Now she is running a medical clinic where she routinely practices medicine on malnourished children, despite the fact that she has no medical training and possesses only a (homeschool) high school education. She is being sued by the mothers of children who died in her care, and news reports suggest that more than 100 deaths can be linked to her negligence. Bach can be seen in pictures online administering injections and posing with a stethoscope. Other charities in the area were alarmed at the condition of children who were transferred from her clinic. https://www.independent.co.ug/is-mzungu-savior-killing-babies-in-mayuge/ https://medium.com/@nowhitesaviors/when-white-saviorism-turns-deadly-american-missionary-played-doctor-children-died-when-will-edb278b938bc The organization, Serving His Children, is largely administered by her family, who live at "Many Blessings Farm" in rural Virginia. Renee was in the process of adopting a 10-year-old when one of these articles was written. She was 22 at the time. https://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/bedford-county-native-is-conquering-hunger-one-child-at-a/article_124c5a6f-f2c2-5f94-87ee-083c52d69e5b.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/features/an-ordinary-girl-who-said-yes-to-an-extraordinary-god/article_de7edc43-b53b-5269-aec1-0c6bd9f98c26.amp.html In an interesting bit of foreshadowing, Bach notes that deaths are "caused more often by a lack of nutritional knowledge than by critical food shortages." -
Fundie Lite Wife Unleashed Neglecting Children in the Name of an African Mission Center
FighterJet posted a topic in Missionaries
Disclaimer: I pondered for some time whether to share this story or not, since the family members involved aren't exactly public figures, although popular within their evangelical circle and quite active on social media. On top of that, I do not want to draw negative attention to the husband's family, who has nothing to do with their DIL. But I needed somewhere to vent, hence I decided to proceed and tell the story without naming names, out of respect for the husband's family and children. After all, it is the story that matters. This being said, let's get started! I am curious about your opinions regarding the strange behavior of this fundie lite, college-educated, pant-wearing mother, whom I'll call Wife. A little backstory Wife met Husband in college. He was struggling with some personal issues at that time, so she convinced him to attend her church, and got him saved shortly thereafter. They married straight after graduation, and she went on to get pregnant and become a stay-at-home-mom in the span of 1 year. Their second child was born 21 months after the first, and all seemed well. Except it really wasn't, and something was already bubbling below the surface. Husband's old issues started acting up again, so Wife suggested they get involved with a church-sponsored mission center in West Africa to try and get the family back on track. It worked for a while, and the couple felt like the Lord was opening their hearts up for adoption, and before long, they welcomed a 10 y.o. in their home. Mind you, the parents are only 16 years older than this kid, and lied about the kid's age to work their way around the paperwork. However, this first adoption was a success for the entire family, so no snarking there. In the meantime, Wife became more and more bigoted and fanatical. She used the excuse of missionary work and vocation to justify her own shortcomings as a mother and the neglect of her bio kids started to become apparent. Their hands full and their finances tight, Wife nonetheless pushed for adopting more kids less than 3 years later. Husband was on board, so one day they brought home 2 little girls from the same African country they adopted the first kid from. Only thing was, they didn't really tell their children they would be returning with the 2 girls when they left for Africa (the kids at home were vaguely aware that their parents wanted to adopt again, but weren't made participants of the process, which is crazy). They made their bio daughter share her tiny room with the 2 newcomers (they simply didn't have enough space in the house) and forced her to sleep on the top bunk bed even though she was afraid of heights. I will never forget Wife's treatment of her bio daughter on that occasion. Wife is a pathological liar and had been talking for a year of a Mom-and-Daughter trip to Disneyland to make her bio daughter do things around the house, a promise she called off as soon as she returned with the 2 adopted girls. On top of that, the bio daughter was expected to share her possessions with a smile and adjust without complaining, so when she had a breakdown, Wife responded by "disciplining" her and forcing her to read the scriptures. She would describe her little girl, who was just 7 at the time, as driven by a selfish sinful nature. Even Husband tried to talk some sense into her, begging her to salvage the relationship with their daughter, but Wife plain out stated that she didn't give a shoot about their one-on-one relationship and that all she cared about was for the family to be biblical and united. This is a demonstration of Wife's laziness: she used the excuse of unity not to cater to her children's individual needs. For the first couple of years, Wife used the African girls as trophies, reveling in all the attention she could get. When the novelty wore off, she had another bio child to remain in the spotlight. She and Husband changed the adopted kids' names so that they could all share one initial letter, just like the Duggars, even when this resulted in opposition from a child. However, finances became even tighter, the adopted kids prefectly adapted to life in the West to the point of not being "interesting" anymore and the family was forced to move to a new town, distancing itself from supportive grandparents, Wife started to realize that such a lifestyle didn't appeal to her. On top of that, a couple of the kids began requiring special attention due to problems that had arisen, and she obviously didn't appear all that keen on putting in the extra work. Cooking, cleaning, hosting Husband's colleagues, doing the laundry, driving the kids to school and to their afternoon activities obviously bored her to no end, but having a holier-than-thou sanctimonious attitude, Wife would never admit to it openly. So what did Wife do? She turned her attention back to the African mission center, of course. End of backstory In recent times Wife's plan was diabolical from the start, but not many, if anyone at all, had realized what she would do. Across the years, Wife had become more and more bigoted, to the point of talking to and about her children in that typical Duggaresque manner. The daughters would only ever receive attention if they displayed "a servant's heart", "steadiness" and "a care taker's soul". She obviously has favorites, in that some of the kids rarely, if ever, get mentioned. A sad reality is that involving her bio daughter. Remember? After years of having to deal with her mother's mirroring and contempt, she has learned not to expect too much from her, and that the only way she has to gain her attention is through "serving others" (= that is, making life easier for Wife). She endangered her children by temporarily hosting critically ill, infectious guests on "humanitarian grounds". Wife has always manipulated her husband into promoting her ideas, hence gaining a teammate with whom to reject inevitable criticism from family and community members. Wife has a new fellow mom best friend she can exploit every couple of years, more or less the same time it takes for each "best friend" to realize they're being exploited and flee. Soon enough, Wife keenly resumed her trips to the West African mission center. The first time she went alongside Husband and Bio Daughter, who begged to be brought along to try and be in Wife's good graces, with little success. You see, Wife only ever appreciates her children if they have something to give her. If they can relieve her of some of her tasks, or take care of something for her. Bio daughter was constantly ill during that trip (my guess is that Wife didn't go any lengths to try and keep her healthy) so that she became more of a nuisance than a helping hand, and Wife was very vocal about that. She would compare Bio Daughter to the sick kids at the mission center, implicitly diminishing her suffering and shaming her for complaining in front of everyone while making herself morally uncriticizable. Old habits die hard. Eventually, it was time for the family to travel back home, much to Wife's chagrin. Indeed, there is nothing Wife despises more than resuming her everyday SAHM routine. In a heartbeat, everything was thrown back at her: laundry, cooking, school, appointments, cleaning, chauffering the kids around, homework and all that jazz. From that point on Wife began making regular solo trips to Africa, on average every 3 months. It was her escape. She got to the point that her day-to-day life had gotten so unbearable, that missionary work was like vacation to her. One day, she left for Africa for what was meant to be a brief 2-week stay, only to end up not returning for months. She spent the better part of last year at the West African mission center, while all her preschool and school-aged children (biological and adopted) struggled to make ends meet at home. Over and over they would face time her and plead her to come back home, only to receive the request for a sacrifice in return. Her relationship with overwhelmed Husband became strained, but Wife persisted in the pursuit of her "calling". Of course, she biblically motivated her decision not to be criticized. As Wife's kids sruggled to learn how to manage an entire household by themselves (since her departure wasn't planned, Wife had never bothered preparing the children for her absence), as her special needs kid regressed, as her preschooler cried his eyes out every night, as one of the adopted kids got fat for binge eating out of stress, Wife kept on insisting that she had "higher and deeper purposes" and that she was meant to help those in need, while being deaf and blind to her brood's many needs. She missed so many milestones, birthdays and struggles of her own children, but to her they always mattered less than the mission center's ones. The child who struggled the least in a sort of resigned acceptance during this time was Bio Daughter, who had long had to learn what her mother is truly like. When, finally, she returned many months later, having been given an ultimatum by Husband, Wife showed great enthusiasm that her kids "could now cook, do laundry and clean after themselves" and seemed so coldly satisfied about the entire situation. Acts of selflessness are to be commended, but can you really straight up leave and spend entire months far away when you have a house full of young children depending on you? Can you still claim your moral high ground, with these premises? Especially when no one forced you to have and adopt so many children in the first place? Please, share your impressions. -
I thought Rep. Castro (D-TX) makes an absolutely brilliant point with his tweet. "Activist" churches and celebrity pastors want to get all up in our faces about how Christians in the US are persecuted, but they sure as hell are not using their influential voices to stand up for the truly persecuted. And here ya go, celebrity pastors! Pete Buttigieg has even provided a useful Bible verse to guide you. *hmmm, just as I thought. Crickets from celebrity pastors. Joel? Joel Osteen? Hmmm, maybe Joel's prosperity gospel church is busy going all out to help those suffering from the hurricane coming ashore in Louisiana, just across the Gulf of Mexico from Houston. After all, he has experience helping victims of Hurricane Harvey during massive flooding in his own city. Oh....Joel kept the doors to the church locked during that disaster? Oh, OK. Never mind.
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As there have been a few complaints in the past from our European members of the dearth of opportunities to Fundie spot Fundies wanting to convert you, I thought I'd alert you to the good news. Evangelist Ted Alexander is planning to convert you all to true Christianity in the form of the pure Ancient Baptist Heritage (Trail of Blood) faith. FYI, these are the only people who can trace a direct line to the earliest Christian Church, which was apparently KJV Only. Please pay special attention to the fact that these followers of Ancient Historic Baptist Faith have been persecuted muchly and tremendously over the centuries. Especially by other Protestants and by silly people presuming to call themselves Baptists when they are not Heritage and Historic enough. A bit of background: Per his testimony, Evangelist Ted was a Deadhead and drug dealer until he found God and true Heritage Baptist religion, which is practiced by Local Churches. http://evangelisttedalexander.com/about/testimony/ Ted came to our attention through John Shrader. Bro Ted and John are "on safari" in Zambia at the moment taking a break after an exhausting Men's Conference in Kafue. It looks like about 25 of the faithful were preached at there, and Ted was forced by Shrader to eat a caterpillar for God. He thinks John Shrader is a good missionary and "fiery," bless his innocent trusting little heart. Ted will be visiting Lossiemouth, Scotland and Carlisle, England to preach soon. At least he knows Carlisle is in England. He will certainly meet up with Jody Hodnett, our favorite missionary to Scotland, there. The IFB missionary world is pretty small, and the Lighthouse church in Carlisle is the one the Hodster frequents more often than his own church plant. After visiting various Historic Baptist sites in England, and four days in London, Ted will delight other European countries with his presence. Paris, France, and various places in Germany and Italy are bracing for his arrival. Please note: This is NOT a vacation. It is research. Evangelist Ted is preparing for a future tour of Europe to convert you all to True Christianity. Full itinerary, video of caterpillar consumption, and other dainty morsels are on his public Facebook.
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I searched but didn't find any prior posts about him. Dow was convicted of sexual assault of his daughter in the 90s. He and his 2nd wife opened an orphanage in Kenya in 2006. He fled Kenya after a warrant was issued for his arrest for the rape of girls under his care. His wife was arrested for child cruelty for forcing tween and teen girls to get birth control implants. Their church is of course standing by their side. https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Why-activists-want-suspected-American-child-molester-extradited/1056-4953110-11jtbud/index.html
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Brazil accuses US missionary of putting isolated tribe at risk
Seahorse Wrangler posted a topic in Missionaries
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/23/brazil-us-missionary-isolated-tribe-lives-at-risk-steve-campbell -
Previously discussed a bit here: https://www.facebook.com/followthebakers/
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Hodnetts converting Scotland, or England, or...who knows? Part 2
samurai_sarah posted a topic in Missionaries
Continue from here: What's happened so far: The Hodnetts relocated from Georgia, US, to Dundee. The traffic system came as a surprise to them, but they seemed okay with the local take-aways. They started visiting a church in Carlisle (England), and moved to Lockerbie. No one knows what happened to their initial plan to minister to the people of Glasgow, or why their youtube video mainly showed Edinburgh and the Highlands. The weirdness continues. -
I just checked in on the Bergeys and, to my dismay, they reached South Africa with their multiple children (both bio and adopted) in tow. Selina is the lady who famously wiped her blog of incriminating evidence when she found our critiques of her parenting and aspirations to run an orphanage in South Africa. The Bergeys have no qualifications except unaccredited Bible College "degrees" and "hearts for orphans." And she gives us an update. http://littlefishministries.org/behind-the-scenes-and-culture-shock/ She has culture shock, their volunteer visas were denied, and they seem to be over-staying their tourist visas. More Poisonwood. Previous thread contains links to her old (much edited) blogs:
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John Shrader Pt 10 - God's Glutton's Greatest Grifts
samurai_sarah posted a topic in John and Esther (Keller) Shrader
Continued from here: -
Maulucci Family Missionaries - Maintenance-free children for days
picklepizzas posted a topic in Other Families - "One Offs"
So I was boredly sifting through JRod's latest post and noticed a series of pictures with the Maulucci family, missionaries to Bulgaria. they have 11 children and have been in bulgaria for years. I found their website and facebook and was immediately sucked in. i'm seriously sitting here with a bowl of popcorn. i searched for them on FJ and couldn't find anything, so i thought i would share some of their greatest hits here and invite everyone to join me on this journey down the rabbit hole. My favorite post so far: The tale of their journey back to the US on furlough. In which the patriarch - fails to bring the proper documentation as they cross borders - doesn't plan to buy his infant a ticket for the journey until they get to the airport at 6 am (spoiler alert: this plan goes poorly) - books apartments for the family and forgets to verify their addresses; ends up sending teenage sons to stay alone in an apartment several streets away from them in a foreign city - gets pulled aside for random security checks and compares his plight to WACO Then there's the post where he extols his wife's greatest qualities, including her wifely submission, that she never complains, and their "crazy sex life"; The post where he brags about how his 11 children can "literally go days without maintenance" as part of his suffered metaphor about the family as a machine; and the post where he implies orphans will all grow up to be rapists. What's interesting is that many of the posts almost seem to have a message I respect - he's very focused on paying attention to your children as individuals and cherishing the ones you have rather than looking to the next, and insists that children are not free slave labor...but then he throws in these crazy comments like the rape or 'maintenance free children' comments that make me go on the other hand he writes an impassioned post against missionaries who grift (it's like he's met john shrader in person!)...although i can't yet figure out how their family is supported in the mission field without depending on donations... anyways, enjoy! -
I just realized that the Hodnetts are about to inflict their vile presence on Scotland. Specifically Glasgow, if @Glasgowghirl wants to keep her eyes peeled for them. I think they need their own thread because they are quite disgusting, but we can also use this thread to discuss other missionaries to Scotland and Europe in general. I haven't checked up on most of my pet hates recently. The Hodnetts plan to leave the USA on October 13th, and are doing some last minute grifting for things like Visas, a shipping container, and set-up cash. They are still waiting for a sponsor for the visas, so let's keep our fingers crossed that there is a delay. For your snarking pleasure - and infinite disgust at thir grifting tactics - here is their Deputation video: And their blog - look at the prayer letters: http://www.reachingscotland.com/
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John Shrader Pt 9- Zealous in Zambia
samurai_sarah posted a topic in John and Esther (Keller) Shrader
Carry on from here: -
Meme contest!
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CNN has an interesting article about Christian missionaries. The author has worked in the Middle East to provide medical care, etc., and states that missionaries who go to other countries in the guise of helping them, but actually just want to convert them, are being dishonest and hurting everyone. He explains his opinions well, and states the consequences of many of these actions. http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/17/opinions/declassified-covert-missionaries/index.html
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Hi, I did a search of FJ, and nothing came up on this family. Fundies that have adopted 3 kids from China and have now decided to start an orphanage in South Africa. So they have sold up everything and are travelling/living in an RV whilst on "deputation". (Ie grifting) She also does parenting advice videos. There is quite a bit of snark potential! http://bergeybunch.blogspot.com.au/ http://perspectivesinparenting.com Enjoy edit to correct family name in thread title. dyac
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I think this deserves its own thread. Stressing family preservation, It covers everything from the inadequacies of institutional care, to the recruiting children for orphanages, and the serious downside of short-term missions to cuddle kids for a couple of weeks. I can't decide which other thread to put it on and it is relevant to so many. It should be required watching for all our child collectors, evangelical and fundie intercountry adopters for Jesus, voluntourists, and their supporters. I'd like to tie Selina Bergey and Miss Raquel to their chairs and make them watch it for starters. Interesting that Bethany Christian Services finally saw the writing on the wall and now is working towards family preservation. Disclaimer: I am not against intercountry adoption for some special needs children - but family preservation is the way to go and what people should be supporting with their donations.
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Missions should be easy!: atheists only in NA, Europe
samira_catlover posted a topic in Baptists/Evangelicals
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/south-carolina-pastor-bizarrely-claims-the-only-atheists-in-the-world-live-in-america-and-europe/ -
Pedophile Rapist Used Missionary/Teacher Job to Rape Vulnerable Children in Malaysia
nastyhobbitses posted a topic in Wide World of Snark
An absolute scumbag, rightly getting tried back in the UK for his crimes This is the major reason why I have such a problem with "independent" missionary (or teacher/NGO) jobs abroad, especially in developing countries. Without transparency, oversight, and regulation (hell, even with all those things), it's all too easy to have something like this go on for years. And this is far from the only case. But with any luck, this monster will be locked away for a nice, long time (hopefully forever) and he will perpetually have horrible diarrhea or something equally unpleasant as karmic punishment in addition to imprisonment. -
So, I get these guys coming into my workplace every so often (I'm in Ohio if that makes any difference), asking to support their "youth group". They look to be in their early twenties, and usually are Asian. They are very polite, and always ask me to buy some sort of craft that they've made (today was window decor). I always say that I cannot purchase the item because I don't have cash on me (they said that they now accept credit cards) and the owner isn't in either and that they can come back and ask her on a day when she's in. And then they always tell me that they are "traveling missionaries" and that they are moving onto the next city tomorrow. What's the deal with this? Is it just a money scam or are there traveling youth groups like this? When I ask them what the money is for, I get vague answers about using the money to help the youth further their relationship with Christ.
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"Barbie Savior:" amazing parody of evangelical missionaries on social media
alexandracabot posted a topic in Missionaries
Had to share this fake instagram account parodying Christian missionaries in Africa — totally hilarious. Some quotes feel like they were lifted directly from evangelical missionaries' instagrams. -
This was on the news this morning. Didn't see it here yet. Interesting story of a missionary and his wife who believe Pro-Life means rescuing frozen embryos. They recently gave birth to triplets. Thoughts? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/04/21/my-wife-and-i-are-white-evangelicals-heres-why-we-chose-to-give-birth-to-black-triplets/?tid=sm_fb
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In the past couple of months I've come into contact with two different families who are planning to be missionaries in North Korea, which I hadn't really heard of anyone doing before. One of them was in the logistics process of their move, and the other one was raising money for a "vision trip," which appears to be a vacation to the place you are planning to be a missionary to see if you actually like it before you commit. The families (and their relatives stateside following their secrecy instructions) described it as going to "Northern Asia" and seemed to think they were being very sneaky, but the descriptions were so thinly veiled that it was pretty obvious where they were going. Like, "They'll be flying to Seoul and then going on to... *dramatic pause*... their destination!" As if 1.) The North Korean authorities were lurking at an American baby shower, but 2.) they somehow wouldn't be able to figure out what we were talking about if the specific words weren't said, like saying the name of Voldemort or something, no matter how transparent the discussion. In both cases, their plan was to obtain visas under the guise of working on government-approved development projects, and then start proselytizing once they got established there. I found this pretty worrisome. Of course I fully support the freedom of all people to practice their religion; local North Korean Christians have a much better understanding than I do of exactly the risks they are taking, and it's not for me to say what they should or shouldn't do. What I worry about is the collateral damage from outsider missionaries who don't really have the level of knowledge needed to navigate the situation, and thus are in danger of dragging others into the issue without their consent. For example, what happens if they get members of a congregation in trouble through some naive faux pas? What about the landlords, drivers, grocery deliverers, etc. who are interacting with them without being aware they're supporting non-permitted proselytizing? What about aid workers and development personnel who are trying to go through the legal channels to help but risk being tarred with the same brush if it's discovered that some Americans are being dishonest about their motives on their visa applications? In both cases, the families have minor children. In one family the kids are under ten. How are children expected to figure out how to deal with this situation, and what happens to them if the house of cards collapses? I got the impression that this was basically a game to these families. They were having fun with the "secrecy" and the white savior fantasies, and they don't fully seem to grasp how badly people could get hurt. Has anyone else heard of this happening? Or was it just coincidence that I met two within a fairly short span of time?
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Here's an interesting one, not quite huge, so I'm not sure if they're quiverful (or just young and starting out, and not quite as fertile as the rest), but here's the basics. Family of four, oldest son with a chronic disease (Eosinophilic Esophagitis), in which they have shunned traditional medical care and decided to treat with the Gerson method. Homeschooling of course (though mom apparently was a teacher for some time). What's more, dad quit his stable job as a firefighter, and the whole family moved to South Africa to minister to the people there (teaching them farming and hygiene apparently). This doesn't exactly sound like a fabulous idea to me when your kid has a super-rare genetic disease. Of course, they need donations to fund their ministry. http://www.nomuck.com and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NoMuck1/
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John Shrader Pt 6: Asinine Alliterations About African Adventures Aplenty!
happy atheist posted a topic in John and Esther (Keller) Shrader
John Shrader is husband to Esther Keller, sister of Anna Keller Duggar (wife of child molester/serial cheater Josh Duggar). She is pregnant yet again, with their tenth (I think) child. The family has been in Zambia for over a year, and John has managed to save a grand total of about 3 souls, which means that he converted them from Christianity to the right kind of Christianity by tagging along to funerals and proselytizing at the mourners. He grifted a bunch of appliances (a matching fridge and freezer!), bought a super expensive SUV, and conveniently neglects to mention his grifted airplane which he can't fly because he doesn't have the key. When his sister died, he somehow managed to get his hands on donations made in her memory, instead of letting the money go to her husband and young daughter. Because John is a classy guy. Now the other half of the original Team Zambia mission, a guy named David Rea, is in Zambia with his own (much better planned and supported) print ministry. Because if there's anything that a developing country needs, it's warring print ministries. John seems to be feeling pressure from Rea's imminent arrival/challenge to his masculinity/godliness/grifting prowess, so he's begun laying the groundwork for an eventual move to Zimbabwe where I guess there will be less competition in the lucrative "handing out useless pieces of glossy paper" market. John recently decided that their landlady was possessed by a demon, so he kicked his "students" out of the building they were living in so he could move his family in. Then he dug a well so that he could give water away and put the guy next door (who sells water) out of business. And now he's raising a ruckus about Satan. Because of course. Pop open some beef jerky and some ranch-flavored sunflower seeds and join us, won't you, for John's further righteous adventures in darkest heathen Africa. Previous discussion: Part 5 here: http://www.freejinger.org/topic/23920-john-shrader-in-zambia-pt-5-witnessing-weeping-wondering/ Archive: http://www.freejinger.org/forum/428-shrader-family/
