John Shrader 18: Hell freezing over despite climate change

[Giraffe]

17 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

A video from the kids!  My, aren't they all growing up fast.  Unfortunately you've also got to see and hear John.

 

Why did this make me uneasy? I’m sad for the oldest kids in this. The 11yo, Alaethia, & Esther seemed especially good at “happy happy happy! “ which sets off alarm bells for me. 

[EyesOpen]

aw. That was actually a cute video. I didn’t even hate Johns voice that much. Maybe he got some feedback while at home that their ‘supporters’ want some darn proof of life since he hardly ever speaks of his wife or children.

[Gobsmacked]

Boo Hoo video unavailable! Is that because I'm outside the USA?

[Granwych]

On 10/24/2019 at 2:23 PM, Palimpsest said:

Short version:

Palimpsest Perseveres in Persecuting Pretentious Pretend Pastor's Protestations of Provision of Printers Purely through Prayer.

Even shorter version:  Perfect!

FJ ers are just wonderful with words!

[Palimpsest]

20 hours ago, Giraffe said:

Why did this make me uneasy? I’m sad for the oldest kids in this. The 11yo, Alaethia, & Esther seemed especially good at “happy happy happy! “ which sets off alarm bells for me. 

The kids are cute, but yes.  Agape and Alatheia are channeling Esther who excels at the  "happy happy joy joy" countenance and voice.  You can see the strong resemblance between Esther and Priscilla Pecan Waller in this video.

I expect the kids homeschooling for that day consisted of rehearsing "My name is ___ and I am ___ years old.  My part of the ministry is to do ____"  for the video.  Little Nehemiah looks fully recovered from his scare.  He also got to thank people for praying for him, and I expect someone will send him a pair of pants that fit soon.

I admit I found the children from Nehemiah on down hard to understand.  But that may be my hearing and their Texas (?) accents.

@Gobsmacked, sorry!  That embedded link is to facebook and John blocked you for being naughty and questioning his genius.  He's put the video on youtube now too so everyone should be able to see it.

 

[thoughtful]

The video on Youtube is different! I guess they did several takes. So, if anyone wants to see John make different errors, watch both.

[waltraute]

The children may be indoctrinated with the 'happy happy joy joy' philosophy but they also all look like they have a real light in their eyes. I hope it's true.

Good looking kids, especially the girls. Agape is stunning. Some of the younger ones seem to have a severe lisp. A speech therapist would be a tremendous help.

Edit: Okay, I watched the 2nd video and noticed a couple of the older ones have the same speech impediment though not as pronounced. Also, I'm less hopeful that the light in their eyes is organic  now that I've seen how they've memorized their lines and rehearsed the enthusiasm for two separate takes of the same vid. Boy, I hope those little souls are at least half as happy as they seem here.

Edited October 26, 2019 by waltraute

[NoneIsEnough]

John admits he's a crappy person, er, brother, in his latest post.

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Five years ago, Enoch was just 11 years old. We had only been in Zambia about five months when this precious video was taken.

Our first born is a far better big brother than I ever was, and praise God that he has listened to me and learned from my failures in that area, and he truly loves and cares for his younger siblings. Dads, we must be humble before our children and be willing to share our failures so that we can teach them and give them the opportunity to avoid our mistakes!

Enoch will be 17 in January, loves mechanics, basketball, knives, guns, camo, hunting and all...pure 100% guy...but he hasn't changed. He can still spend hours playing with his little brothers and sisters, entering into their world, and showing them genuine love. What a great example he is to his younger siblings.

We are so blessed by our fine son Enoch. What a joy, a treasure, and a tremendous gift from God he is to our family.

He posted a video in the post too, but it must be set to friends only as it says it's not available to view for me. 

[Ozlsn]

So Enoch has one year left on his parents' visas? What then John? 

And geez I am over John's need to show that his son is "pure 100% guy" - you know what John? He could love opera, My Little Pony and cooking and still be "pure 100% guy". Grow the hell up already John and stop trying to constrict your children into the boxes you consider gender-appropriate.

I really hope Enoch has enough education to give him a wide range of future options, preferably a long way away from his father.

[Gimme a Free RV]

Sorry!  I posted in the wrong thread.

Edited October 27, 2019 by Gimme a Free RV

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, Gimme a Free RV said:

Sorry!  I posted in the wrong thread.

I had a moment of total confusion as to where I was then! 

[anjulibai]

It's weird that all of a sudden John is talking about his kids. This is really unusual for him. Someone with money must have said something to him. 

[Palimpsest]

On 10/27/2019 at 12:02 PM, anjulibai said:

It's weird that all of a sudden John is talking about his kids. This is really unusual for him. Someone with money must have said something to him. 

Or he has finally noticed that posts mentioning Esther and kids get more comments and upvotes. 

But John's utter selfishness was rather glaringly obvious from July - September and probably even the most deluded humper noticed.  He was giving regular surgery updates and pleading for prayers for himself all over the place. 

He pretty much ignored his family until he got back to Kafue and asked for prayers for Esther and then Nehe.  Esther had been coping uncomplainingly for about 8 weeks while he was back in the US.  The whole family apparently was sick, he never mentioned that, and people were trying to steal Johnny's precious car.

Johnny's Missionary Report Card for this update.

Whining (but of course he isn't complaining): A

• It is as hot as Hades in Zambia 
• John doesn't have AC
• Power cuts
• He's still convalescent
• The heat is slowing his recovery
• He can only do 6 hours straight "work" 

Bragging (about "Typical Saturday" which he can't do yet so others are filling in?B

• 12 hour straight day of ministry
• bus route leaves at 8 (I think that means Esther goes to collect people)
• church at 9 
• Outreach from 9-12 (apparently church and outreach are the same thing)
• lunch (nshima, veggies and beans no beef jerky)
• Youth Bible study, then Men's and Women's Bible studies
• Prayer Meeting at 5pm (simply praises and prayer requests)
• Prayer sometimes for two hours straight!
• bus takes everyone home 

As his flock is mostly unemployed or only have part time jobs I don't know why he needs to do all these prayer meetings on Saturdays.  It's a really long day for the converts too.

Gratitude (I think he deserves this one):  C-

• he's thankful for Bro. Whyte and Bro. Emmanuel and
• Enoch for helping to teach those Saturday Bible studies
• he thanks people for praying for his back

Such a blessing.

Joy: F

He doesn't find anything joyful about that I can see.

Gospel or Jesus Quotations:  F

The Macedonian Call is from Acts and Paul yet again.

Thoughts for others:  D (much improved)

• his flock is suffering because the drought pushed prices up
• he remembered to ask for prayers for Esther

Specific Prayer Request: F

It's all about him and his back again.  He doesn't think to ask for prayers for his unemployed and poverty stricken flock or for an end to the drought.

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Piping Hot Soaring temps Here, and Prayer Help Sought regarding Health

It's hot here...sizzling hot, topped out at 107° today...y'all with A/C, be thankful! When it's this hot, the fans blow HOT air, WHEN the fans work...due to the consistent 8 hour daily power outages during the week! We are SO thankful that it's not like this all the time (meaning the temperature, the power outages have been like this for almost half a year now)! Please pray with us for a good rainy season this year. The first rain should have already come here, and it should pick up next month, but it's bone dry. We've had two bad seasons in the last two years, and I've seen it reported that we are in the worst drought here since the early 80's.

This not only affects us with load shedding (power outages), as the majority of our power comes from hydro, but it has driven the staple food here in Zambia, which is made from ground dried maize, to almost double (K stands for Kwatcha, the currency here), and almost everything else as well, due to the gas prices increases (most of what's sold here must be imported in). This has deeply affected the people that we mainly work with, which is those at the bottom of the economic scale here. Not one member of our church has a regular job, so these price increases have really hit them hard.

In times like these, it's a blessing to see our members proving God, even in their poverty, just like the Macedonians in Scripture.

Thanks for your prayers for my health as well. Being in this heat in a convalescent state, well, it really takes it out of you, especially after a 5-6 hour straight day of ministering, teaching, preachIng, helping with some of the bus route. It really knocks me down.

I am not yet able to do our around 12 hour straight day of ministry on Saturdays yet. We start at the church at 9, which means the bus route leaves at 8, then Outreach from 9-12, then a simple lunch of Nshima (made from that boiled ground white maize) and some vegetable and beans, then Youth Bible study, then Men's and Women's Bible studies, then Prayer Meeting at 5pm, which is simply praises and prayer requests, then Prayer, which sometimes goes as long as two hours straight, then the bus takes everyone home. I miss being there for everything, but if I did all this, I would simply not be able to preach and teach the next morning. I'm so thankful for Bro. Whyte and Bro. Emmanuel, and even now Enoch has started as well, helping to teach those Saturday Bible studies to lift the weight off me. Such a blessing to have these faithful men.

Thank you to those who are praying for me. They did say 9-12 months total for recovery, and I am just now two months in. I think I am progressing slower due this extreme heat, which we've been having now for many weeks. Please pray that God restores my stamina, which I expect will improve as this hot season eventually will pass, and I can do more. I would also specifically ask for prayer that the nerves in my back which go down to my legs, aggravated during the surgery, would eventually heal and be restored to normal, if the Lord wills.

Please also pray for Esther, as she is more than half way through the pregnancy, and she does so much in the ministry, so the heat is really hitting her hard also.

Please don't think in any way we are complaining. This is part of life in Africa, and where God calls you, He sustains you! Thank you again so much for your prayers and encouragement, they mean more to us than you can ever know.

From the Field,

John, Esther and the kids

 

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

Prayer sometimes for two hours straight!

This is so not a selling point for me. 

3 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

As his flock is mostly unemployed or only have part time jobs I don't know why he needs to do all these prayer meetings on Saturdays.  It's a really long day for the converts too.

It's asking a huge amount of people, I hope John is providing the food.  I could be deeply cynical here but I wonder if a lot of his flock are feeding their families as much as possible via as many churches as possible and they already had the more mainstream churches lined up for Sunday. God knows if my kids were hungry I'd be at every free food offering service, no matter what I thought of their ministry.

3 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

He doesn't find anything joyful about that I can see.

His back hurts and he's hot and cranky.

[Palimpsest]

4 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

I hope John is providing the food. 

Me too.  Actually I think he is providing food (and water through the well) at the church.  Those "providence meals" are probably his biggest draw for the converts.  But they come with strings.

And the bad news is that Johnny has lots of time to write bad poetry these days.  I would genuinely like to hear from their own mouths how John's siblings experienced the "realness" of Jodi and Rick.  But I respect their (the siblings) not wanting any part of this shit-show too.

Oy, Johnny!  Here you go again.

Quote

There are many things that are fake in our world today. Fake food, fake news, and fake merchandise. My latest "Quill and Bible" poem is about my parents, and the incredible gift they gave me of living a genuine life before me of being "real" in both ministry and life. I gladly rise up and praise them in poetical fashion today (Prov. 27:2).

Oh, yeah.   Proverbs 27:2  (KJV) 

Quote

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Dear Rick and Jodi:  But let not thine own son brown-nose you.  The one who depends on you for all his support.  He purports to be thine own self-serving mouthpiece! 

Thou should gettest thy butts clear of his flattery for thine own sakes and to preserve whatever cash thou hast preserved for thy retirement.  Because Johnny needs it all.

But John's poem is really "real! " Enjoy (or cringe along with me).

Quote

A Tribute To My Parents Being Real

I'd like to share a tribute,
And tell you a great truth
About the two that raised me,
Brought me up from my youth

My parents are not perfect,
Such never will be found
But I'd like to tell you something,
A truth about them to resound

My whole life I have noticed,
That many in ministry
Are one way when in front,
But outside something else you'll see

And Jesus pointedly warned us,
Of the "leaven of the Pharisees"
And He gave the explanation,
That "leaven" is hypocrisy

I've seen it in the pulpits,
On mission fields I've found
I have seen it in lives of deacons,
Others "leaders" who with praises were crowned

One thing about my parents,
That today I tell to you
They never claimed perfection,
But they were honest through and through

They did not act pretentious,
To be something they are not
Why those in leadership that do this,
On God's ministry are a blot

It turns the hearts of people,
To view hypocrisy
One acts one way in private,
But different when others can see

But a person who's consistent,
Who truly shows God's Heart
Well that is called veracity,
It made me want to take their part

I boldly stand and testify,
From my heart with godly zeal
One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me,
Was that before me they were real

They truly had compassion,
For the people in the flock
And even when some left or slandered them,
Their love for them never stopped

I've watched my father keep loving,
Even those who cursed his name
He even kept loving the ones,
Who stood publicly to cause him shame

Now that's the heart of a shepherd,
Who truly loves the sheep
And my mother never stopped praying,
Even for ones who cost her sleep

I could tell you so many stories,
How their love never ran out
They truly loved the unlovely,
I saw Jesus in them without doubt

They didn't just care for the helpful,
They didn't just love the good
They even loved those who split the church
Just as Jesus taught we should

My parents are just simple people,
Not flashy or very well known
They have never sought reputation,
As through the decades the Seed of Life sown

But for this I deeply thank them,
And from my lips its truth now peal
That whether strengths or even their foibles
My parents have always been real.

Bro. John Shrader
Zambia

 

[thoughtful]

 

Quote

My whole life I have noticed,
That many in ministry
Are one way when in front,
But outside something else you'll see

Now that's poetry!     

 

Quote

I could tell you so many stories,
How their love never ran out
They truly loved the unlovely,
I saw Jesus in them without doubt

But were they unlovely and smelly, John, or are those people only in the churches Jill Rodrigues goes to?

I find that picturing John reciting these poems holding a large fake flower, like Henry Gibson on Laugh-In, makes them more bearable.

[NancyDrewFan1989]

All I got out of John's recent report is the heat is affecting his health. Yes, John's recent medical procedure could be affecting his health in Africa. However, the John claims the doctor told him this before heading back. I hope that he has the sense to return to the states with his family if his health worsens.

Then again this is John we are talking about. So most likely he is going to whine and complain until he gets an air conditioner installed. In the meantime, the children are going to pick up the extra work John can't do because he is recovering. Also, Esther is going to be popping out another kid soon; so he is going to complain about his health while Esther goes through another childbirth with little to no medical help. Personally, I think Esther has more reasons to complain about the life in Zambia than John does.

[Gobsmacked]

I read John's latest pome with the voice of Stanley Holloway reciting Albert and the Lion going through my head.

[NoneIsEnough]

2 hours ago, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

All I got out of John's recent report is the heat is affecting his health. Yes, John's recent medical procedure could be affecting his health in Africa. However, the John claims the doctor told him this before heading back. I hope that he has the sense to return to the states with his family if his health worsens.

Then again this is John we are talking about. So most likely he is going to whine and complain until he gets an air conditioner installed. In the meantime, the children are going to pick up the extra work John can't do because he is recovering. Also, Esther is going to be popping out another kid soon; so he is going to complain about his health while Esther goes through another childbirth with little to no medical help. Personally, I think Esther has more reasons to complain about the life in Zambia than John does.

I think John *heard* the doctor say 12 month for healing, but John assumed god would make it easier for him so he didn't really believe it. 

An A/C unit won't help if the power cuts continue. Hint hint, John needs an A/C AND a generator. 

[thoughtful]

9 hours ago, Gobsmacked said:

I read John's latest pome with the voice of Stanley Holloway reciting Albert and the Lion going through my head.

That helps!

If John ever writes a poem with the line "And him in his Sunday clothes, too!" we'll be ready!

[Palimpsest]

John is praising the Lord because Bro. Lewis, missionary to Israel, encouraged "our heart" today.  God is so good.  She invented WhatsApp for needy missionaries in desperate need of daily attention, just like Johnny.  

Quote

Praising the Lord today for a dear brother and faithful missionary in Israel who called and greatly encouraged our heart today via WhatsApp. Bro. Lewis is such a gracious man, and he is truly a tremendous blessing to us. We rejoiced in God's goodness together and had such a sweet season of prayer. Amazing how easy it is to be connected in this day we live in!

Never underestimate just now much a smile, or kind word, or praying with and for someone might mean to them. Let me challenge us all to ask the Lord how we might be used by Him to bless and encourage another's heart today!

God is so good,

js
Zambia

I was interested in this intrepid missionary determined to convert Israel.  Christian Zionism at its best, with missionaries jumping in there to try to convert all of Israel before the Second Coming.

He is probably Australian Andrew (and Rachel) Lewis.  I found him in the rogue's gallery of one of Shrader's supporting churches.   http://www.gracebaptistpa.org/page14.html

He certainly managed to piss off this organisation back in 2012:  

Quote

Scandal: Who Gave Missionaries Home Addresses of Israel's Teachers?

11/28/12

Thousands of teachers across Israel recently received missionary material in their home mailboxes, together with copies of the "New Testament." As a result, Yad L'Achim has been inundated with calls from teachers who are furious that their private property had been violated by such objectionable material.

Especially disturbing was the ruse the missionaries used, inserting the material in envelopes marked "Important information for educators." Only after opening the envelopes did the teachers understand the nature of the materials they had brought into their homes.

Yad L'Achim investigated the matter and learned that the group behind the campaign was the messianic organization "Hope of Israel," headed by Andrew Lewis. It immediately fired off a letter to the education minister and distributed flyers warning potential recipients of the nature of the material arriving at their homes.

http://yadlachim.org/?CategoryID=192&ArticleID=848

Now I don't know anything about Yad L'Achim, but it looks like a royal dust up between two sets of religious fanatics to me.  

Edited October 30, 2019 by Palimpsest

[Palimpsest]

Shrader is all excited.  

Quote

Exciting Call, Encouraging Convert, Emmanuel's Card, Evaporative Cooling, Exemption from Cuts, and Exultant Christians!!!

Short version:

• Potential (unnamed) convert called from seven (7) hours away.  Pity John can't drive yet.
• Luckson and his siblings Fortune and Kedzia (who is only a girl) have been coming to church.  UnLucky has been copying scripture.  His brother Gilbert and Mom and Dad are still resisting John's wiles.  Send them good thoughts.
• Emmanuel now has a driving license so John can exploit him better.
• Johnny rigged up his inversion bed with wet towels as a cooling device.  The rest of the family are still sweating.
• Humpers who pray diligently have helped them because they haven't had any power cuts in the last few days.

Lots of photos to prove all this, including someone who may be Luckson getting dunked in the concrete baptismal thingie, Emmanuel driving, Emmanuel's licence (poor job of redacting his name, Johnny, but I knew it anyway), and John's evaporation cooler device.

• Vaguesplaining about good news in the works.
• But Satan is still fighting.  No details on that yet.

 

Quote

Exciting Call:

Wow! Wow!! Wow!!! I just had one of the most exciting phone calls from here in Zambia in all our five years, after our church service. It originated from one of our earliest Gospel tracts from almost five years ago.

The phone kept going off during service, and when I finally called back afterwards...well, all I can say is, that I am SO encouraged at the possibilities represented by this call!!! The individual calling had literally just recently been praying with his wife about needing someone to carefully teach them the Truth directly and only from the Bible, and then he came across our tract, and they are more than 7 hours from here! After reading it he said he was compelled to call me!!!

I'll share more if/as things develop, but I have been specifically praying about something like this, even this very morning with my darling wife!

Encouraging Convert:

My beloved wife stopped in to make a visit to the mother of Luckson, whose salvation testimony is simply incredible. He gave his life to the Lord last December, and man, this guy is on fire for the Lord! Esther was so encouraged as she saw in his house that he has written out Scripture and posted it all over the wall, mainly because of the salvation testimony he heard from Bro. Ted Alexander when he was here last May, how God used his mother and his sister keeping Scripture in front of him, and how God convicted him through that!!! This encouraged Bro. Luckson, and he has started writing out verses, and explaining words, and recently moved his "Scripture Wall" to another location in the house so his family would see it more often! What a blessing Luckson is to our church family. He faithfully brings his little brother Fortune and his sister Kedzia, and we are praying for the salvation of his younger brother Gilbert, and his mom and dad. His mom told Esther today she might come visit church! This dear young man shows such brotherly love to me, and encourages me beyond words to see his love and passion for Christ, His Church, His Word, and the Lost!!

Emmanuel's Card:

Bro. Emmanuel has been working since before I got back on getting his driver's license. He completed everything yesterday and got it today! This will take a HUGE burden off of Esther and I as he and his co-pilot Enoch (who is also learning to drive but can't get his full license here until he's 18), take over the bus route. Emmanuel is a very cautious driver, and got his provincial some time back, so he's been driving the route together with a licensed driver for more than a month. What a tremendous blessing this faithful member of our church is!!!

Evaporative Cooling:

As you can see by the pictures, I have turned the main frame of my Inversion Table into an makeshift Evaporative Cooler of sorts using some wire and wet towels. It actually helps alleviate some of the heat! This is version 3.0!!

Exemption from Cuts:

As far as the exemption from the power cuts, maybe it's because some of y'all have been specifically praying for us, but I just read an article that says that they are having 15 hour daily power outages in Lusaka (and ours are normally 8 hours), but recently we have had power! We thought it was because of the 55th Anniversary last Thursday, which made a 4 day weekend, but then, they kept leaving it on here this week most of the day and the nights!

We don't expect it to continue, but it sure has been a blessing this week...and the temps have also dropped into the high 90's at the hottest part of the day, which is almost ten degrees cooler, so we are grateful for that!

Exultant Christians:

We thank you for your prayers and encouragement, God is clearly working, but the devil is also fighting. Please keep praying, I believe and KNOW that God is going to do some exciting things in the days to come!! In other words, there are some very excited believers here in Kafue to see what God is doing right now, and we are eagerly anticipating what He is going to do!

God bless you all,

Bro. John and Esther Shrader
Zambia

And a couple of days ago Johnny had the gall to compare himself to George Müller.  Because George Müller never solicited donations but just prayed for them.  

Quote

This is a must read. I have a small, old, printed copy of this interview. This man documented over 70,000 direct answers to prayer. He prayed in the modern equivalent of around 200 million dollars. Incredible.

https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/an-hour-with-george-muller9272207?fbclid=IwAR0f8TgUyQScE59x-9VvOr5ewclwKSUgKgv-DBcdutsWgBmmCZzolhA5Fcc

I am offended.  Here are a few differences between Johnny and old George Müller.  

George Müller:

• Started out small and had a proven track record helping orphans before people started giving him money.
• Housed, fed, and educated thousands of orphans at Ashley Down over his lifetime.  He didn't just pray for lost souls.
• Published all his orphanage plans in advance before he prayed up a storm.   So it wasn't surprising that people gave him money.
• Always prayed for provision for the orphans, not for himself or his own comforts.
• Actually refused or delayed accepting donations if he thought the donor needed them more than the orphans did. 
• And kept meticulous accounts, sent donors receipts, and published an annual report detailing exactly how all the money was spent.

Selah, Johnny.  I don't think you can say the same.

Mind you, George Müller was also a priggish shit-head who only accepted "deserving" orphans, who were born in wedlock, and who came with good references.  

 

[Xan]

John has gone all out on Esther's birthday.  On their public Facebook page, he's made her the gift of TWO POEMS!  Holy shit - they're bad.

 In the second poem, he goes on (and on and on) about how Esther loves him so much and treats him like a king.

Yes, John.  She treats you like a king and you treat her like a servant.  I'd hoped he bought her a gift while having his miraculous back surgery and being in the US for a while.  Nope.  The poet laureate of Kafue just laid around and thought up a bunch of rhyming words.   

Editing to add:  Sorry.  This was for their anniversary - not for her birthday.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Xan

[anjulibai]

I thought Esther's birthday was May 9. 

[Xan]

9 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

I thought Esther's birthday was May 9. 

Sorry.  You're correct.  This was a gift for her on their anniversary.    My only excuse is that, after reading his poetry, I was too mentally confused to remember anything correctly.