Burden to Burundi, Zealous for Zambia

[church_of_dog]

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.

I am reminded of "The Mosquito Coast", which, while a great novel and compelling movie about a highly disturbed man, was a work of fiction and would be that much more disturbing if it were to be played out in reality...

[uber frau]

Or the Poisonwood Bible.

[church_of_dog]

Or the Poisonwood Bible.

Hmm, I like Barbara Kingsolver but I haven't gotten around to reading that yet. Now I think I must.

[RosyDaisy]

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.

Never gonna happen. Esther could get on her hands and knees and beg, but they won't help her. She is under John's authority, and it's his job to provide. And of course they will blame Esther for not submitting or praying enough. :angry-banghead:

[MysteryHaggis]

Or the Poisonwood Bible.

This. It's like John lifted the plot and used it as a travel guide.

Except oops, godless fiction, oh noez. :-o

[uber frau]

And his kids will never have new Easter suits when they step off the plane.

[anjulibai]

What state are they living in now? I'm just curious.

[uber frau]

Poverty.

[Sydney Fox]

Poverty.

:clap:

[slickcat79]

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 actually think they're all going to still be in the US by the time Esther delivers. Last year John was claiming they would be in Zambia by November, and now it's May. He keeps running into "unexpected" roadblocks, which basically just means he hasn't grifted enough to be okay with leaving the relative comfort of the US. For his family's sake, I hope everything keeps getting pushed back over and over.

[Justme]

Never gonna happen. Esther could get on her hands and knees and beg, but they won't help her. She is under John's authority, and it's his job to provide. And of course they will blame Esther for not submitting or praying enough. :angry-banghead:

Well, they could at least chip in and purchase vaccines for Esther and the children. :roll: God "lays it on the hearts" of strangers to donate money for the trip, why can't he also "lay it on the hearts" of Esther's family to make sure she and the children have at least some protection... :evil-eye:

[quincygal]

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!!!

Where can I find the prayer letter? Link please:)

[lilith]

Where can I find the prayer letter? Link please:)

It's on his Facebook, which is public.

[quincygal]

It's on his Facebook, which is public.

Thank you Lilith:)

OK, reading their recent updates, holy crap! The letter ends with "Please pray for Esther, as the baby is due in September! Please also pray the Lord will provide a competent midwife for her." This tone is scary- are they doing ANYTHING in advance to look for this midwife or other medical provider?

Also scary is this-

Timothy (8) - "We went on deputation and we went to lots of churches. We lived in a camper...(thinking)...and then when we were at 90 percent we went back to our home church and daddy started getting his pilot's license and we're hoping he can finish flight training fast so we can go to Zambia.

They are at 90%??

[uber frau]

But apparently that 90% will only cover flying lessons, not rabies shots.

(Some days I wish it were necessary to have a license before you could inflict yourself on children).

[quincygal]

But apparently that 90% will only cover flying lessons, not rabies shots.

(Some days I wish it were necessary to have a license before you could inflict yourself on children).

arghh. I wish had had spare cash to send for the needed shots, but you KNOW that goofball would take the cash for the lessons! Again, I wish the kiddos & Esther could stay with her folks in FL & he can go to Zambia. Forever!

[Justme]

Dose anybody know exactly what shots they should have and approx how much they would cost per person? I know we have several medical professions here. Any idea/estimates?

[Trynn]

I would never donate money, I would instead pay to send a doctor to their home to give the kids the vaccines himself. I agree, John would never spend the money on his children when he could be spending it on himself.

[anjulibai]

Dose anybody know exactly what shots they should have and approx how much they would cost per person? I know we have several medical professions here. Any idea/estimates?

Here's the link to the CDC's reccommendations for Zambia:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destination ... one/zambia

(not breaking because it's the government)

I find this point particularly upsetting:

You will need to take prescription medicine before, during, and after your trip to prevent malaria. Your doctor can help you decide which medicine is right for you, and also talk to you about other steps you can take to prevent malaria. See more detailed information about malaria in Zambia.

No way will John spend that much money for medications for the entire family to cover them the entire time they are there.

Poor children. :(

[ViolaSebastian]

Here's the link to the CDC's reccommendations for Zambia:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destination ... one/zambia

(not breaking because it's the government)

I find this point particularly upsetting:

No way will John spend that much money for medications for the entire family to cover them the entire time they are there.

Poor children. :(

There's no way that this is going to happen, unfortunately. The thing is, if one of the children does get so sick that he or she needs to return to the United States for medical treatment (which is well within the realm of possibility at this point), these fools have no medical insurance, so it's going to fall on us to pay for this stupidity. (Just to be clear, I don't mind footing the cost of medical treatment for children, but I do take issue with supporting these buffoon's failure to properly plan for something that any layman that can use Google can tell you is going to be an issue.)

[SoSoNosy]

I have been to a malarial zone in S. Africa. The newer medication (the one that causes less horrible side effects) is expensive; you are supposed to take it for a week before you leave, the entire time you are there, and a week after you get back. The older one that is less expensive reportedly has horrendous side effects. We took the newer one, although where we were nobody ever saw a mosquito.

[scc12]

Is it safe for Esther to get these meds/shots while pregnant,and what about a newborn? How are they going to protect this new little one?

I'm thinking they may not even be able to find a competent midwife in Zambia(?).I'm not familiar w the country, so I hope I'm wrong.

[Palimpsest]

Is it safe for Esther to get these meds/shots while pregnant,and what about a newborn? How are they going to protect this new little one?

I'm thinking they may not even be able to find a competent midwife in Zambia(?).I'm not familiar w the country, so I hope I'm wrong.

No, some of these immunizations are not safe for pregnant women or children under 5. There have been several links posted by me and others in the last couple of pages detailing the immunizations that the Shraders will need and the restrictions.

I'm sure there are many competent midwives and many competent obstetricians used to dealing with any number of problem deliveries in Zambia. Sometimes they succeed in saving lives. Sometimes not. Whether those midwives/OBGYNs are acceptable to the Shrader standards of "modesty" is another question.

The Shraders plan to live in Kafue, which is a fairly large city within a few hours travel of the capital, Lusaka. There are 3 hospitals/clinics in Kafue. Lusaka is a well developed city with pretty good hospitals. At a price. There is, however, a big shortage of medical supplies and drugs throughout Zambia. The Shraders intend God to come through for them with no advance planning and complete irresponsibility on their parts.

The Shraders (and Reas, although we haven't heard anything from the Reas recently and they may have dropped out) seem to be channeling funding through Global Independent Baptist Missions. Whatever that is. gibmission.org/missions_locations/zambia/

GIBM stringly recommends that Sending Churches to take out insurance on their missionaries in case of medical emergencies. I wonder whether Valley Baptist is doing that and insisting on innoculations . . . somehow I doubt it! If something goes wrong God will provide massive bills that Valley Baptist Church may be paying for years to come.

I honestly find it unbelievable that people are contributing any money to John Shrader and his idiot ideas. He is such an ill-prepared doofus.

[Justme]

That's a long list of shots/meds they need! I'm assuming they've had none of the usual childhood shots. I don't think their little bodies could handle that many by May even if they started today. I remember my child needed a series of some spaced several months apart. :cry:

[lilith]

If Esther receives vaccinations would her breast milk provide protection to the newborn til he/she is old enough to receive vaccinations?

My ex husband had shingles late in one of my pregnancies and the midwives told me not to worry, my chicken pox immunity would protect the baby. Until I told them that I'd never had chicken pox (they were working on the assumption that almost all Australians my age have). But then I couldn't receive the vaccine whilst pregnant, so it could well be the same with the vaccines Esther needs. I hope they're not going to take an unvaccinated expectant mother into an environment which she has no genetic or immune resistance for the diseases of and have her give birth to a similarly unprotected new born.