Burden to Burundi, Zealous for Zambia

[formergothardite]

I think that if funds don't come in for the shots and they aren't cheaper in Africa he will not let that stop him. His kids can go without. And now another baby will be brought into this dangerous lifestyle. Wasn't she sickly during her last pregnancy?

[ILoveJellybeans]

Oh God no, not another one :( Esther had trouble during the last one, and the baby will likely be born in Zambia :(

John, you selfish asshole, please let Esther stay in America until the baby is born, she had so much trouble with the last and I don't want her to die or anything. Not like you would care, considering the way you said that you expect maybe a few of the kids might die, but hope they get to see more birthdays to come. Surely not going would be better than a dead kid.

[anjulibai]

I think that if funds don't come in for the shots and they aren't cheaper in Africa he will not let that stop him. His kids can go without. And now another baby will be brought into this dangerous lifestyle. Wasn't she sickly during her last pregnancy?

I meant more, no funds for actual travel costs. That's what I'm hoping they lose.

I have a hard time understanding how their families can sit idly by and watch John endanger all of their lives like this. It's absolutely disgusting.

[ViolaSebastian]

I just looked at his prayer letter and he says that Esther is due in September and he hopes to find a midwife (in Zambia, I'm guessing) as they hope to leave in May. So she's pregnant again.

He also talks about vaccinations and that the rabies vaccine is $600-1000 per person and hopefully they can get the vaccines cheaper in Africa.

What an idiot!!!

I wish I could say that I'm surprised, I really do. But I think we all saw this coming a mile away. This pregnancy has disaster written all over it. Someone with more medical knowledge than me, are pregnant women allowed to be vaccinated?

[GeoBQn]

Here is the intro he wrote on FB in the post for his "prayer letter:"

"Roses are red, their stems are green, when you read this prayer letter, don't think we're starting a baseball team! Answers to Prayer, provision for flying, please keep up your prayers, it just might keep me from dying!!"

That is . . . so incredibly inappropriate I can't even wrap my head around it.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I wish I could say that I'm surprised, I really do. But I think we all saw this coming a mile away. This pregnancy has disaster written all over it. Someone with more medical knowledge than me, are pregnant women allowed to be vaccinated?

cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/preg-guide.htm

I for one am never going anywhere that requires me to get a freaking rabies vaccine.

[quincygal]

I just keep wishing that John would go off by himself, and leave Esther & the kiddos safe with her folks. I would LOVE to see them get a nice big manufactured home or something & put it right on her parents' property. Annnndddd then John is called by Jaysus to stay in Africa permanently. While Esther & the kids stay in FL & be safe!

[anjulibai]

I wish I could say that I'm surprised, I really do. But I think we all saw this coming a mile away. This pregnancy has disaster written all over it. Someone with more medical knowledge than me, are pregnant women allowed to be vaccinated?

I think it might depend on the vaccine. I know when I was pregnant, I wasn't given the pertussis vaccine until the day after I had given birth, though my husband was reccommended by my OB to have his shot weeks before. I'm sure my OB would have had me vaccinated for pertussis before giving birth if it had been safe, so I'm guessing it wasn't. However, she did insist I have the flu vaccine in my second trimester, so that must have been safe.

[Palimpsest]

Oh, Fuck. Esther is pregnant.

If there is a God she will find a way to stop this self-centered idiot taking his family to Zambia.

So John is still whining and begging for money for his flying lessons but has finally thought about immunizations. I cynically wonder whether he will take the money and not get the vaccinations for his family because he'd rather spend the money on his flying lessons. He is just. that. irresponsible.

Disclaimer: Not a doctor or health professional. However, I do find it interesting that the one vacination John mentions by name is rabies, which I'd say is one of the more "optional" immunizations for the tropics. There are many more risky things like yellow fever, cholera and typhoid. For rabies, just don't get scratched or bitten by an animal, especially a bat. Bats are a big vector for rabies. If you are scratched or bitten by an animal then you need to get 5 shots ASAP. If you have been immunized (3 shots) then you only have to have 2 shots after exposure. He also doesn't mention the ongoing costs of anti-malarials when in Zambia. For those wondering, some shots are not given during pregnancy and some are not given to children under certain ages.

These immunizations are not going to be cheaper in Zambia necessarily, and travellers are advised to take their own anti-malarials because they are not always available in developing countries. If they do wait and get the vax there, they will also be using meds bought in bulk by a developing country for their own people and/or donated for preventing disease in Africans not irresponsible ugly American "missionaries" and their families.

If anyone has a sock on Facebook perhaps they could post these useful links on John Esther Shrader's Facebook for me. If his leg-humpers are actually looking at the number of different vax needed and the costs they might hold John accountable.

mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/africa/zambia.php#0

A good overview of the vaccinations needed and where they are contraindicated for pregnant women and small children:

And a Travel Clinic in WA where a physician might be able to knock some sense into John's stupid head: polyclinic.com/travel-center

[scc12]

I keep hoping the Kellers/his inls,will be able to talk some sense into him.even though they are all things Goth/ati,I'm sure they are concerned about esther and the kids.

Since John is non-Goth/ati,why oh why are they still popping out endless babies?!

[nellautumngirl]

Oh God no, not another one :( Esther had trouble during the last one, and the baby will likely be born in Zambia :(

John, you selfish asshole, please let Esther stay in America until the baby is born, she had so much trouble with the last and I don't want her to die or anything. Not like you would care, considering the way you said that you expect maybe a few of the kids might die, but hope they get to see more birthdays to come. Surely not going would be better than a dead kid.

I'm afraid to ask, but did he use those exact words? Was this a post on Facebook? He really sounds mentally ill :?

[Seren Ann]

I'm afraid to ask, but did he use those exact words? Was this a post on Facebook? He really sounds mentally ill :?

It was text at the end of this video : youtube.com/watch?v=c6_4oaY-wys

He says "if the Lord wills, we hope to be able to enjoy many more birthdays to come with our precious children. The mission field is dangerous, with disease, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes carrying malaria, and many other hazards. Again, thank you for your prayers on behalf of the Shrader Children, missionaries to Zambia. It truly means more to us than you could ever know. "

It really riles me how he keeps calling his kids "missionary children". As if it was a choice they had made ! It seems like he wants to make them seem special, better than ordinary children, chosen for a sacred calling. That's where he's wrong : they are children, much too young to be asked to sacrifice anything, and as such they deserve to be protected, not sent out to Africa without proper healthcare and expected to make do with whatever horrible living conditions John sees fit to subject them to. Sickening.

[lilith]

I keep hoping the Kellers/his inls,will be able to talk some sense into him.even though they are all things Goth/ati,I'm sure they are concerned about esther and the kids.

Since John is non-Goth/ati,why oh why are they still popping out endless babies?!

Cause he's still an IFB lunatic, he's just following his own path.

[Guest]

Rarely does a pregnancy announcement make me sick to my stomach. This one does. This child is going to be born in Zambia while his or her idiot parents are still trying to figure things out. He or she will likely never be vaccinated against the common diseases of Africa. He or she will probably never meet any extended family, and will probably never have his or her own bed.

Esther hasn't had particularly bad pregnancies -- at least not Melanie Maxwell bad. She had some unexpected symptoms late in her pregnancy with Charis, which were blamed on Fukushima radiation. She was in labor with Sophia for about a week and ended up being two weeks overdue. During the week-long labor, she was also sick at some point, which had many FJers worried, but not her husband! I believe, at the time, he was asking for prayers for his juice fast or something similarly ridiculous.

Is it too early to guess names? I'm thinking Malachi or Caleb for a boy, Damara, Eleni, Elpida, or Osanna for a girl.

I honestly pray for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery, hopefully in the United States, and that Shrader #9 will be the last.

[ViolaSebastian]

I'm almost hoping for a pregnancy hiccup--nothing big, nothing that is a particular risk to the baby...just something that's enough to keep Esther in the United States until the little one is born safely...

[formergothardite]

I'm almost hoping for a pregnancy hiccup--nothing big, nothing that is a particular risk to the baby...just something that's enough to keep Esther in the United States until the little one is born safely...

I don't think any sort of pregnancy complication will stop him from dragging his wife and kids over there so that they can be martyrs. :(

[Guest]

I don't think any sort of pregnancy complication will stop him from dragging his wife and kids over there so that they can be martyrs. :(

I really had hope that a pregnancy would delay things, but I think that the last pregnancy delayed their fundraising, and John's not letting anything else get in the way of him and Zambia. He mentioned at one point that his "heart" was already there. Besides, it's obvious that Esther would probably keep conceiving in Zambia.

I think that this baby's best bet is that his or her daddy fails the pilot's test. That would delay them for another couple months, and at that point, Esther would be unable to fly until the baby is born.

John can go die for his cause in Zambia and be a martyr, but if those children dies in Zambia, they're not martyrs, they're victims, and John and his ridiculous dreams would undoubtedly be to blame.

Oh my goodness, I'm just so mad about this.

[scc12]

I hope they have family who speaks up for them,and not just ignores the situation.The Kellers and David/Priscilla are in a position where they can publicly call on them to rethink the whole thing,at least for now.

I do hope someone speaks up! The littles and pregnant esther have no one who will look after their well-being,it appears.

[lilith]

I don't know, if Esther had to stay behind cause of a difficult pregnancy I can see John taking the rest of the brood ahead to Africa without her, and he's in no way equipped to deal with 8 kids under 10 on his own in a third world country.

[marmalade]

I don't know, if Esther had to stay behind cause of a difficult pregnancy I can see John taking the rest of the brood ahead to Africa without her, and he's in no way equipped to deal with 8 kids under 10 on his own in a third world country.

He can't take care of them in a first-world country.

[Arete]

Oh shit...Esther is pregnant again.

Seriously, the sperm donor is a roach in need of a hard heel.

[formergothardite]

I don't know, if Esther had to stay behind cause of a difficult pregnancy I can see John taking the rest of the brood ahead to Africa without her, and he's in no way equipped to deal with 8 kids under 10 on his own in a third world country.

I think the same. I feel like he has this vision of him saving the African souls and having to sacrifice his children's lives to do so and he is not going to give up that fantasy for anything. I'm sure he can envision his mission story being taught to little children in Sunday school years from now and the little children will just listen in awe of how holy he was that he followed God's call even if it caused the death of some of his children. Bonus martyr points if his wife dies in labor and he carries on raising the children and saving the lost souls.

If he can get the money to get himself and his kids over there he will go.

[anjulibai]

I just read that letter, and what strikes me about it is that Esther being pregnant is only mentioned at the very end. Almost the entire letter was about John's flight training. Most of the rest was about moving things to Zambia. Only the last 3 lines mention Esther being pregnant.

It's very obvious where John's priorities are.

[SPHASH]

I just looked at his prayer letter and he says that Esther is due in September and he hopes to find a midwife (in Zambia, I'm guessing) as they hope to leave in May. So she's pregnant again.

He also talks about vaccinations and that the rabies vaccine is $600-1000 per person and hopefully they can get the vaccines cheaper in Africa.

What an idiot!!!

NOOOOOOOO!

[lilith]

I think the same. I feel like he has this vision of him saving the African souls and having to sacrifice his children's lives to do so and he is not going to give up that fantasy for anything. I'm sure he can envision his mission story being taught to little children in Sunday school years from now and the little children will just listen in awe of how holy he was that he followed God's call even if it caused the death of some of his children. Bonus martyr points if his wife dies in labor and he carries on raising the children and saving the lost souls.

If he can get the money to get himself and his kids over there he will go.

The combination of the comments on the boy's birthday video and the content of the piece he had his eldest daughter perform recently is disturbing. The piece was about a 19th century lady who wrote a hymn, and part of it was telling how her three eldest children died within 6 months, but that grief was selfish because they were with Jesus now and that her sorrow had brought forth a beautiful hymn glorifying god, kind of implying that that made the death of the kids worth it.