Shraders in Zambia - Welcome to Poisonwood, Stephen- Part 3

[slickcat79]

Anyone friends with John on FB under an alias that could ask the question? Then we can see what he'll do with it. Either answer that his "precious" plane is still gathering rust and waiting to clear customs, ignore the question, or delete the question completely.

He'll delete the question and unfriend/block the asker. He already got snippy over people asking him about how he intends to support his family and criticizing his choices, which led to him unfriending tons of people and making his page private. I have no doubt he reads here at least occasionally, so he knows people are curious. If there were any legitimate answer to the plane question he would have given it by now.

I would really like to see one of his legit "fans" ask about it though. He has various family members on his page, as well as people with an established history that he interacts with on the regular. He might not be able to cut them off so easily, but they're also not likely to start questioning him now.

Can't these fools understand that all of that crap can be bought in Lusaka and save them a HUGE hassle getting it into the country. :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:

John claims that they are "hard/impossible to find/ghastly expensive" in Zambia. I don't know if that's accurate or that's just him talking out his ass. I do wonder about sending power tools or tools requiring battery chargers in particular. Seems like those could easily be rendered nonfunctional in a country with a different power supply, especially since John said his dad picked them up from a pawnshop.

[Justme]

There is a way to ask without sounding "judgemental". Like: Hi John, how does your new plane handle in the air? It must be so nice to make a quick flight instead of a long drive. We'd love to see some pictures from the air. The landscape must be so pretty.

[Firiel]

Wait. John Shrader theoretically bought a plane to fly around Zambia for missions? Does he have just a private pilot's license? Ummmmm... there is no way in hell you should be flying a plane around a place like Zambia with just a pilot's license. Typically, the terrain and airstrips are very rough in places like Africa. There are missionaries who spend YEARS in training to learn the skills they need to safely navigate difficult airstrips/terrains in isolated communities. And you need to know your plane and the terrain well enough to know which airstrips are long enough for your aircraft.

Also, there is already an established mission organization that employs missionary pilots to fly people around in Zambia.

Can someone point me to any of his blog posts about this? Imma gonna do some research on my own, but this is, like, super sketch.

{L_MESSAGE_HIDDEN}:

Shit, son! Shrader and I have some mutual acquaintances!

[Justme]

It was all in FB, before someone pissed him off and made it private.

[scc12]

What exactly does John do in Zambia,and what has he accomplished since he's been there? Does he preach on a weekly or daily basis? Why do ppl keep sending them free stuff.I guess that's a million dollar question.

[formergothardite]

Wait. John Shrader theoretically bought a plane to fly around Zambia for missions? Does he have just a private pilot's license? Ummmmm... there is no way in hell you should be flying a plane around a place like Zambia with just a pilot's license. Typically, the terrain and airstrips are very rough in places like Africa. There are missionaries who spend YEARS in training to learn the skills they need to safely navigate difficult airstrips/terrains in isolated communities. And you need to know your plane and the terrain well enough to know which airstrips are long enough for your aircraft.

Also, there is already an established mission organization that employs missionary pilots to fly people around in Zambia.

Can someone point me to any of his blog posts about this? Imma gonna do some research on my own, but this is, like, super sketch.

{L_MESSAGE_HIDDEN}:

Shit, son! Shrader and I have some mutual acquaintances!

If I remember correctly the Lord laid it on his heart that he needed an airplane so he could fly out and bring the Good News to the natives. He managed to get someone to buy him a plane that was already in Zambia. I think that the plane has been sitting not being maintained for a year or so. John had never seen the plane before he got to Zambia and he used to talk about it a lot before his arrival, but now is suddenly very quite about this plane. Since he got the plane he needed to learn to fly so he got people to pay for him to get a pilot's license in America.

After getting the plane and the pilot's license the Lord suddenly laid it on his heart that he needed a brand new Troupie to take "bodies and Bibles" to the natives.

I'm half expecting the Lord to lay it on his heart that he needs a helicopter next.

[Firiel]

Shrader got the private pilot license:

FAA minimum requirement is 40 hours, but the national average is over 65 hours. These figures are for 50 hours at our current rates:

50 hours Cessna 150 @ $80/hr

$4,000

30 hours flight instructor fees @ $35/hr

$1,050

24 hours ground school @ $10/hr

$240

Written Test Fee (variable)

$150

FAA Flight Test Fee (variable)

$450

Study Materials (typical)

$150

Private Pilot Cost

$6,040

Crap, 50 hours is nothing...

mata-usa.org/our-programs/

And he had to do it in a "compressed time frame."

John Shrader is a pastor moving his family to Zambia in June. His organization has an airplane already on the field for his use, so he has been working hard to become as proficient and safe a pilot as possible in a compressed time frame.

mata-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/spring-2014.pdf

[thoughtful]

John Shrader is a pastor moving his family to Zambia in June. His organization has an airplane already on the field for his use, so he has been working hard to become as proficient and safe a pilot as possible in a compressed time frame.

mata-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/spring-2014.pdf

Re the red:

:wtf: :roll: :angry-banghead:

[IReallyAmHopewell]

John claims that they are "hard/impossible to find/ghastly expensive" in Zambia. I don't know if that's accurate or that's just him talking out his ass. I do wonder about sending power tools or tools requiring battery chargers in particular. Seems like those could easily be rendered nonfunctional in a country with a different power supply, especially since John said his dad picked them up from a pawnshop.

Dear John,

There are these dark little shops--"Indian Stores" or "Asian Stores"?? They sell ANYTHING. They WILL get it for you and, yes, it will be less than the cost of importing it yourself. Maybe you haven't realized it yet but those little hair drier-size electrical converters don't last long when powering something larger....... It also makes sense to get a bike SOLD in the country so you can get SPARE PARTS....ditto other items that could break down.

John, with all the internet at your finger tips to discover what life was like in Zambia (other than their souls) you did a piss poor job preparing and this is from someone thought it was necessary to take liquid Ivory bath soap with me to Peace Coprs! Learn something before you leave home...........

[It'sFunToRun]

I don't think the name "Stephen Lushomo/Faith" is that bad considering that the person who named him calls himself "Slave John".

When little Lushomo grows up, the girls can call him "Luscious" :stir-pot:

[slickcat79]

John reposted this article on his FB:

paulchappell.com/2014/08/28/10-ways-to-be-a-blessing-to-your-missionaries/

Shorter version:

1. Pray for them

2. Send money

3. Send gifts

4. Send them things they specifically ask for

5. STFU and don't bother them about anything else, and especially don't ask them if they're actually doing anything useful

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Let's see--since they didn't do the paperwork to be an official charity (I'm guessing) then the plane and the car are being held hostage until the import duty extortion is paid. Plane will be given roughly the same value as Air Force One and car will be valued similarly to Queen Elizabeth's newest Bently limo..........Once he's raised the funds in hard currency (Dollars, Pounds, Euros, Yen or maybe Rand) then he is free to have them in the country. I'm betting no one considered import duty--probably 100% for such vehicles. Then there's the tricky problems of insurance, fuel, etc.

This is why it now takes a very large, very well-funded organization with local lobbyists to put missionaries into the field even in true humanitarian settings. Maybe he IS with such an organization and I missed it. Being an American missionary the idea of BRIBES is probably not one he has yet embraced (he will--it will be called a "gift") so that, too , is slowing things down. Plus he's stupid and they can play with him like a cat does a mouse....

[Firiel]

Let's see--since they didn't do the paperwork to be an official charity (I'm guessing) then the plane and the car are being held hostage until the import duty extortion is paid. Plane will be given roughly the same value as Air Force One and car will be valued similarly to Queen Elizabeth's newest Bently limo..........Once he's raised the funds in hard currency (Dollars, Pounds, Euros, Yen or maybe Rand) then he is free to have them in the country. I'm betting no one considered import duty--probably 100% for such vehicles. Then there's the tricky problems of insurance, fuel, etc.

This is why it now takes a very large, very well-funded organization with local lobbyists to put missionaries into the field even in true humanitarian settings. Maybe he IS with such an organization and I missed it. Being an American missionary the idea of BRIBES is probably not one he has yet embraced (he will--it will be called a "gift") so that, too , is slowing things down. Plus he's stupid and they can play with him like a cat does a mouse....

It doesn't appear he is with any organization to me-- it's just him, his sending church, and his supporters, it seems.

This website lists what organizations all the flight school alumni are working with, and John's bio says this:

John & Ester Shrader. Serving with self-supporting Baptist Churches in the task of church planting in Zambia, Africa.

mata-usa.org/mata-alumni/

[Gobsmacked]

If johns plane does exist/still exists I just wonder if he has registered himself as a pilot with the Zambian air authorities?!

The bush air strips are all owned either by the government or by safari lodges and parks.

The airstrips we saw are well maintained and have a regular schedule of air traffic landing all year round. John cannot just decide to fly off and land at one of his choosing without booking in advance and also paying landing fees to the relavent department.

Long gone are the days of "out of Africa"!!

Staff wait at the airstrips when a plane is due in to help unload passengers/ goods.

He can't just park up and wander off into the bush toting bibles!!

Zambia is an organised country and takes air travel very seriously.

Seems he has done no homework at all!!!! :mrgreen:

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Sadly, along with not understanding that "Africa" is a continent and not a country and that each country on that continent has its own laws etc., John has no clue how anything anywhere is run. There is usually a paper trail involved in starting any type of organization just about anywhere on the planet. Unlike in the USA, where our corruption is not so obvious, it takes MONEY to make clerks find your paperwork, money to get them to put it on the next desk, money to get the clerk with the stamp to stamp it, etc. Pay up and your junk will be yours again.

He, like most Americans sadly, think all of "Africa" is a refugee camp full of famine victims. No place today is as "underdeveloped" as most Americans seem to think. In the 1960s, John, the world began sending up these things called satelites! They make it possible to have tv, phones, internet etc in the most bizarre places. Generations of world leaders have not only been taught by missionaries and Peace Corps volunteers but in Universities and Graduate schools around the globe. Yes, people do still herd goats and string beads, but their children may be in a University that you think is too Ungodly for your own offspring. (Hint: they like birth control too).

Missionaries today are rarely unskilled--they generally study the local language, have medical skills, practical experience in building communities of faith, etc. They don't just expect God to drop everything in their laps.

[countressrascal]

If johns plane does exist/still exists I just wonder if he has registered himself as a pilot with the Zambian air authorities?!

The bush air strips are all owned either by the government or by safari lodges and parks.

The airstrips we saw are well maintained and have a regular schedule of air traffic landing all year round. John cannot just decide to fly off and land at one of his choosing without booking in advance and also paying landing fees to the relavent department.

Long gone are the days of "out of Africa"!!

Staff wait at the airstrips when a plane is due in to help unload passengers/ goods.

He can't just park up and wander off into the bush toting bibles!!

Zambia is an organised country and takes air travel very seriously.

Seems he has done no homework at all!!!! :mrgreen:

Thanks for the information regarding Zambia, I have not done any mission work there, majority of mine has been in Tanzania. They seem to have the same rules and regulations regarding air transport that they have. I am not sure if motor transport is the same there are not however in Tanzania you have to have your vehicle inspected by the local government for a fee, need a driver license, permeant local address either the supporting agency or business, for ex-pat and car/road insurance. I am part of an established medical team so I have no issues with either way to travel however they have one person who works full time to make sure that we follow all the laws, 1 plane and four vehicles.

All I can say about John is that he is a dumbs*t about this adventure.

NGO that I work with we have to submit milestone reports to Tanzania government and supporting agency, if we do not meet the milestones or have progress they can ask us to leave. If I was giving him my hard earn $$$ I would like to know what he was doing.

[Gobsmacked]

Zambian drivers hold driving licences with photographs also have to carry full insurance (some won't but that's the same in any country!)

Some of the main roads are being rebuilt with Money from china and japan.

Because of the number of huge lorries and roadwork vehicles driving thru smaller villages there are a number of police check points.

Vehicles are pulled aside to have brakes, lights etc checked.

The driving test regulations are similar to Britain and I should imagine America, Australia etc.

[slickcat79]

The plane was supposedly already in Zambia when John bought it, so he shouldn't have had to worry about import taxes and requirements. I just think it's monumentally stupid to buy something like that from the other side of the world when you haven't even seen it in person, especially when the deal seems too good to be true. My thoughts on the plane are one of two options:

1. John was completely scammed about the plane, and it never existed in the first place. Someone scored big time and hosed him for $15K.

2. John knew the plane didn't exist, but wanted to weave a story for his followers. Either he frittered away $15K and had to explain where it went, he needed more money and wanted to explain why he was suddenly depleted, or he just wanted a story about how god was looking out for him to encourage further donations.

[Justme]

The plane was supposedly already in Zambia when John bought it, so he shouldn't have had to worry about import taxes and requirements. I just think it's monumentally stupid to buy something like that from the other side of the world when you haven't even seen it in person, especially when the deal seems too good to be true. My thoughts on the plane are one of two options:

1. John was completely scammed about the plane, and it never existed in the first place. Someone scored big time and hosed him for $15K.

2. John knew the plane didn't exist, but wanted to weave a story for his followers. Either he frittered away $15K and had to explain where it went, he needed more money and wanted to explain why he was suddenly depleted, or he just wanted a story about how god was looking out for him to encourage further donations.

I have a feeling the plane exists, it's just not in flyable condition. He bought it, what, a year ago? It's probably been sitting "rotting" and/or had parts looted.

[scc12]

John reposted this article on his FB:

paulchappell.com/2014/08/28/10-ways-to-be-a-blessing-to-your-missionaries/

Shorter version:

1. Pray for them

2. Send money

3. Send gifts

4. Send them things they specifically ask for

5. STFU and don't bother them about anything else, and especially don't ask them if they're actually doing anything useful

Holy cow.So if you are a missionary,it's all about YOU? Funny,I thought it was about the country and ppl you were sent there to serve!

And the birthday and even anniv. gifts? pffftt!! Have ppl donate to a worthy cause instead.GEEZ.this is just pure selfishness.

[It'sFunToRun]

The plane was supposedly already in Zambia when John bought it, so he shouldn't have had to worry about import taxes and requirements. I just think it's monumentally stupid to buy something like that from the other side of the world when you haven't even seen it in person, especially when the deal seems too good to be true. My thoughts on the plane are one of two options:

1. John was completely scammed about the plane, and it never existed in the first place. Someone scored big time and hosed him for $15K.

2. John knew the plane didn't exist, but wanted to weave a story for his followers. Either he frittered away $15K and had to explain where it went, he needed more money and wanted to explain why he was suddenly depleted, or he just wanted a story about how god was looking out for him to encourage further donations.

I wouldn't put number (2) beyond many missionaries, but (2) requires some planning ahead, which I don't think John is capable of.

[Clutched Pearls]

Long time lurker, first time poster!

Any updates on the Shrader front?

[slickcat79]

John was able to pick up the troopie before Stephen's birth, and it has all fees paid and everything is in order for it to be legally driven in Zambia except that he doesn't yet have a fire extinguisher for it. The family was able to make a trip together into Lusaka and share a meal before the baby came. John also shared a story about how great it was for him to be a blessing to a couple who was trying to carry some sticks and charcoal back to their home. He helped them transport the items in the troopie...and gave them tracts, naturally. Planting more seeds!

Stephen is doing well. John is still working with Roderick, Arcade and Brother Phiri in his discipleship efforts. He is really concerned with making a distinction between his brand of christianity and the "prosperity gospel" that is apparently prevalent among missionaries in southern Africa.

John also mentioned that a supporting church took up an offering at their missions conference so that the family could get a large printer/copier for making tracts. Apparently David Rodrigues isn't the only one who thinks a "printing mission" is a thing. I know John has mentioned collecting money for printing equipment in the past, including one entry on 6/4/13 that I can't find anymore. He's either deleted it or I can't get the old entries to load right on FB. Either this new collection is simply a rehashing of what he got last year, or the old donations were diverted to something else. Financial transparency, how does it work?

OTOH, looking back at the old entries did give me a chuckle. Kind of funny to see the times when he had his page public and he was getting trolled left, right and center. And also kind of sad to see what his kids had to put up with, living out of a van/pop-up for months on end :|

[RecoveringFundie]

Can someone remind me what the Troopie is? I know it's a car---but what kind?

Also---what does iirc mean? It's a term that comes up frequently here and I cannot figure out what it means! Probably something super obvious.

[ViolaSebastian]

It's a big ole all-terrain monster vehicle. Apparently his sits 15 or some obscene number like that. Can anyone tell me about the gas prices in Zambia? I don't see him conserving it unless it's going to hurt his bottom line.