John Shrader 20: The Little Plane that Dared

[NoneIsEnough]

I'm guessing John was no fan of Josh anyway. John doesn't appear to like anyone who doesn't talk about the KJV bible 24/7. 

I doubt he'll comment, or he might make some vague reference. He never seems to comment on anything about Esther's family. He's never mentioned when one of them got married or had a kid. I doubt this will be any different. 

[TheJewAmongUs]

Do you think Esther and Anna have seen each other since Priscilla's wedding? It's coming up on 10 years.

It seemed like John was doing a pretty good job of alienating Esther from her family, especially during the pop-up camper years. Looking back now, maybe Esther's situation with John was a sign of Anna also being left largely alone to deal with her headship. The Duggars surely had the means to visit Esther in Zambia, but they never have. It's hard to know what's going on with Esther because she doesn't have her own social media and John mostly posts about himself. Maybe one day their older kids will have social media and say something interesting.

[SamanthasMom]

I believe Esther attended Nathan and Nurie’s wedding and her parent’s anniversary party.

[Howl]

I was amazed that John posted about his and Esther's anniversary trip.  It sounds like they actually had a good time. 

[Xan]

John has spewed up a new post.  It's about some missionary family with eight children.  John, the poet laureate of fundiedom has immortalized them in terrible verse.  Warning:  It's long and very, very bad.

Spoiler

There once was a Jew named Andrew,

Who was Saved by the Grace of God

He was far from the land of his fathers,

On Australia's soil he did trod

He was nurtured and discipled,

By a Baptist Body of Christ

Then sent out as a Missionary,

With his precious "above rubies" wife

God blessed their fruitful union,

And His "Heritage" gave them to raise

And they're faithfully guiding those "arrows",

In seeking their Saviour each day

They have loving shared the Gospel,

Even when hated in return

Brandished knives and rocks through the window,

Nothing their hearts have turned

Year after year they have steadfastly labored,

Though having to move again and again

Unwavering in printing and preaching the Gospel,

This family's love for the Lost has no end

I was honored to meet them in person,

It was one of my greatest thrills

To see these faithful servants,

Who live simply without fancy frills

They are happy and contented in Jesus,

Their peace in trials touched my soul

To see their zeal for the Master,

Made me want them better to know

I cannot tell you how much I value,

The friendship we lovingly share

Of how Bro. Andrew has ministered,

To my heart as we shared times of prayer

I thank God for bringing us together,

Though we serve so far apart

For the The Truth and Christ has bonded us,

There's no distance too great for the heart

We both are seeking to raise our family,

To love Jesus more each day

And what a joy and honor and privilege,

That for this precious family we can pray

Would you also pray for Andrew and his family?

As they serve in fields so hard

Would you pray for their protection,

As they Obey the Call of their Lord?

Would you pray God gives them Converts,

To lead to Christ and be Saved?

Then in Heaven will forever be praising,

Giving God Glory for Endless Days

I thank God for this Jew named Andrew,

And his family so precious and dear

I invite you to give them the greatest gift,

And lift them to God's Throne of Grace in Prayer.

Bro. John Shrader

Zambia

12/2021

 

[Ozlsn]

Oh there is so much wrong with that poem. John, get someone to proofread. Out loud.

1 hour ago, Xan said:

There once was a Jew named Andrew,

Who was Saved by the Grace of God

He was far from the land of his fathers,

On Australia's soil he did trod

If you want an extra word consider an adjective describing the soil (red, hot, etc) but you don't need it as there are 8 syllables without it (Aus-stray-li-a's). Also "did trod" is not correct and bloody awful - "did tread" or "trod". This is why reasing out loud can help.

1 hour ago, Xan said:

He was nurtured and discipled,

By a Baptist Body of Christ

Then sent out as a Missionary,

With his precious "above rubies" wife

"Christ" and "wife" do not rhyme, even if you slur them. And, to be fair, you may well have been while writing this. There are many suggested rhymes for Christ, maybe you could have tried "with his wife, who is without price" instead? Still a bit clunky, granted, but be grateful I didn't aim to get "diced" in there.

1 hour ago, Xan said:

They have loving shared the Gospel,

Even when hated in return

Brandished knives and rocks through the window,

Nothing their hearts have turned

Lovingly John, it's an adverb. Also is Andrew brandishing the rocks and knives here, because that is definitely how it reads.  And that last line is just... not good, particularly not if they're converting with menace.

1 hour ago, Xan said:

I was honored to meet them in person,

It was one of my greatest thrills

To see these faithful servants,

Who live simply without fancy frills

Like an icemaker?

1 hour ago, Xan said:

They are happy and contented in Jesus,

Their peace in trials touched my soul

To see their zeal for the Master,

Made me want them better to know

Ergh. Clunk, clunk, clunk. Find a rhyme for better and try from that.

1 hour ago, Xan said:

Would you also pray for Andrew and his family?

As they serve in fields so hard

Would you pray for their protection,

As they Obey the Call of their Lord?

Would you pray God gives them Converts,

To lead to Christ and be Saved?

Then in Heaven will forever be praising,

Giving God Glory for Endless Days

I thank God for this Jew named Andrew,

And his family so precious and dear

I invite you to give them the greatest gift,

And lift them to God's Throne of Grace in Prayer.

John, for crying out loud get a rhyming dictionary, or look up a website or something - or read this out loud. If you're having to torture the syllables then it doesn't rhyme. Hard/lord; saved/days; dear/prayer - none of these rhyme!! You could definitely stay within the spirit of this by having "as they serve in fields so hard/would you pray for their protection/to not end up bloody and charred". Similarly saved actually does rhyme with paved, and you could get something about gold in there. Or behaved, or craved - "Giving God all the Glory He craved"? "Because on Earth they were so well behaved"?

Dear and prayer though, in what accent does that even come close? I'm attempting a (very bad) Texan drawl right now and it still doesn't rhyme. "Dear" and "prayer" both have so many actual rhymes - you can definitely do better here. "And lift them to God's Throne of Grace by their hair" works, and also leaves the reader with an interesting mental image.

[apandaaries]

Regarding Esther’s isolation, I believe John told her to stop using Facebook. He already had their family missionary page, so why should she waste time online? His shitty poetry won’t write and promote itself! He’s a busy fundie man, after all. 
(As I recall, he mentioned it in a throwaway line somewhere, but it caught my eye and concern. Isolation is so important for abusers. I doubt he physically beats her, but emotional and spiritual abuse? Definitely. I don’t think John can function in the world without abusive and condensation seeping out.)

ETA: medical neglect also. There’s the son with seizures, and Esther pregnancies are oddly lengthy and without much oversight, from what we can discover.

Edited December 26, 2021 by apandaaries
More thoughts, then moar typos.

[Ozlsn]

John is travelling again! To a different part of Zambia to teach Biblical Truth to a group of men, by invitation. He's asking for prayers.

Spoiler

The accordion music just makes it.

He's also being openly anti-vax, and managing to spread misinformation in the weirdest way yet by talking about the death of some preacher from smallpox:

Spoiler

John you absolute moron, he died of VARIOLATION, not vaccination. Variolation involved taking material from someone with a mild case and then infecting susceptible people with it in the hope that they too would have a mild case and be protected from severe infection and possible death from smallpox. It was risky, and people died from it as mild in one person doesn't always translate as mild in another. The smallpox vaccine didn't start to be developed until 1796 when Jenner realised that milkmaids didn't get smallpox if they had had cowpox.

Spoiler

The very fact that John doesn't need to fear so many viruses including smallpox and polio is a direct result of vaccination. He's an ignorant parasite.

Spoiler

Also a selfish and ignorant parasite. I kind of hope that Zambia requires vaccination, although he's trying to get a religious exemption I think. He also confirmed Rick had covid, and claims that he was healed by some unproven cure which he posted a video about. I'd watch but it's already flagged as misinformation and also someone reported it. Tempting.

In other missioning news they printed more pamphlets and a new year with 126 more suckers converts who are all undertaking what sounds like a pretty awful course (but cheaper!):

Spoiler

Do they ever have Zambians performing? Or is it their role to be still and "learn" from John's "wisdom"?

Edited January 8, 2022 by Ozlsn

[NoneIsEnough]

John's out bothering people again, this time for 12! hours! I would gouge my eyes out if I had to listen to him for 12 hours. 

He also needs to learn how to use air quotes properly. 

Spoiler

Thanks for praying dear friends. Sure need it. I am in a rural area of Zambia about 8 hours from Kafue this week seeking to challenge men with the Word of God.

One pastor of a "Baptist" "church" attending the teaching shared his "testimony" of "salvation" with me. Basically, he told me that he got drunk one December, and heard a voice, looked, and no one was there. From that time, he stopped drinking and doing sinful things, and after that went to "baptism class" for 3 months, then got baptized. He had no idea of what it meant to receive Christ (John 1:12).

When I asked him if he shared that "testimony" with the one who baptized him, he said "yes."

He also didn't know what Grace meant when I asked him. He knows the word, both English and Bemba, but not what it means. He pastors a church with 120 people that can read (not counting the younger children).

Really need your prayers for these precious souls, and to think...these are the national men leading churches here.

We had more than 10 men there today, I honestly didn't count, and more are supposed to be joining us tomorrow. I taught for 12 hours straight today, Praise the Lord for His Grace and Strength.

I will be spending most of the day tomorrow on Biblical Salvation, the Gospel of Christ, and the difference between the righteousness of man vs. The Righteousness of God.

I'm now laying on my cot in the back of our "Truth Carrier" ready to get some much needed sleep!

Goodnight from Zambia

Bro. John

 

[Woods Nymph]

25 minutes ago, NoneIsEnough said:

John's out bothering people again, this time for 12! hours! I would gouge my eyes out if I had to listen to him for 12 hours. 

He also needs to learn how to use air quotes properly. 

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Thanks for praying dear friends. Sure need it. I am in a rural area of Zambia about 8 hours from Kafue this week seeking to challenge men with the Word of God.

One pastor of a "Baptist" "church" attending the teaching shared his "testimony" of "salvation" with me. Basically, he told me that he got drunk one December, and heard a voice, looked, and no one was there. From that time, he stopped drinking and doing sinful things, and after that went to "baptism class" for 3 months, then got baptized. He had no idea of what it meant to receive Christ (John 1:12).

When I asked him if he shared that "testimony" with the one who baptized him, he said "yes."

He also didn't know what Grace meant when I asked him. He knows the word, both English and Bemba, but not what it means. He pastors a church with 120 people that can read (not counting the younger children).

Really need your prayers for these precious souls, and to think...these are the national men leading churches here.

We had more than 10 men there today, I honestly didn't count, and more are supposed to be joining us tomorrow. I taught for 12 hours straight today, Praise the Lord for His Grace and Strength.

I will be spending most of the day tomorrow on Biblical Salvation, the Gospel of Christ, and the difference between the righteousness of man vs. The Righteousness of God.

I'm now laying on my cot in the back of our "Truth Carrier" ready to get some much needed sleep!

Goodnight from Zambia

Bro. John

 

It basically sounds like this preacher has more regular attendees than John does, so naturally John has to insinuate that this man is not a real "Christian" and doesn't have a real "church". What a complete asshat. 

[postscript]

I haven’t checked on John in a while. His poetry appears to be getting worse, if such a thing is possible. 

Seeing vaccination as a set up for the Antichrist is a new one. John, stick to yammering about the gospel. Let the medical professionals do their jobs. You were keen enough to listen to them when it came time to have your vacation back surgery. 

[Ozlsn]

On 1/13/2022 at 7:58 AM, Woods Nymph said:

It basically sounds like this preacher has more regular attendees than John does, so naturally John has to insinuate that this man is not a real "Christian" and doesn't have a real "church". What a complete asshat. 

He has a better conversion story than John, I think John's jealous. 

As to not knowing "what it means to receive Christ" or the "true" meaning of Grace - both are pretty subjective. This preacher certainly seems to have turned his life around and found his path - I hope he's not derailed by John's idiocy.

[Ozlsn]

John is spending lots of time (11 hours!) trying to ensure that Zambian men have his approved conversion process, rather than just, you know, not doing bad things any more and trying to live better lives. Part of me is wondering what convoluted hoops John is setting up when what he really means is "accept that I have authority over you".

Spoiler

Imagine if those poor men believed that by serving their community they were glorifying God, when they needed to be subservient to John to be truly saved! /s

John's also meme-ranting about how Baptists are The One True Descendant Church of the Original Apostles, to which I say... the Orthodox have a better claim there John, and just because you're ignorant of the eastern Church doesn't make it less so. Heh.

[Xan]

Here are the whiteboards.  It reminds me of something from "A Beautiful Mind" except nothing about it is beautiful and John's kind of crazy hasn't been medically diagnosed.

Spoiler

All I can figure is that there is a real lack of entertainment in that village.  If there was anything at all better to do, nobody would be listening to John prattle on.

[CTRLZero]

2 hours ago, Xan said:

Here are the whiteboards. 

Ha!  From the way it flows, it does looks like a formulaic sequence to create some sort of robot.  (I read too much science fiction, lol.)  

[postscript]

11 hours? Seriously? John, when you’re trying to teach someone a new concept, you start with a short explanation of the basics and save the deep dive for later sessions. You also don’t insist they get everything right during the first round. You’re lucky those men didn’t walk out on you. 

[Ozlsn]

So... we're pretty much agreed John's in his manic phase right now, yes?

[Xan]

6 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

So... we're pretty much agreed John's in his manic phase right now, yes?

I'd say yes to this.  He's posted a video on Facebook with the whole family.  It's a ministry update and he gets each of the kids to tell their name and add that they are each "your missionary" to Zambia or to Africa.  He, predictably, uses up a lot of the video when the camera is on himself.  I guess there might be some hesitancy on the part of his dad's sending church about continuing to send so much money.  He must feel it necessary to prove just how successful he is being.  The only plus I can find is that the children look generally healthy and Esther doesn't look to be obviously pregnant.  She's turning 41 soon and I'm hoping that she, like JillRod, is slowing down.

Screenshots:

Spoiler

He also posted a music video of the "Shrader Strings".  I think he wrote the song.

Spoiler

I think John is like JillRod in that they're both narcissists and really needed to channel their desires into careers in entertainment.  It would have saved all those children from having to live their lives as props in John's and Jill's ongoing dramas.

[Woods Nymph]

On 1/24/2022 at 8:41 AM, Xan said:

Here are the whiteboards.  It reminds me of something from "A Beautiful Mind" except nothing about it is beautiful and John's kind of crazy hasn't been medically diagnosed.

  Reveal hidden contents

All I can figure is that there is a real lack of entertainment in that village.  If there was anything at all better to do, nobody would be listening to John prattle on.

Wait, are these supposed instructions on how to be saved? It's been a while since I've cracked open a Bible but, as I recall, Jesus made the road to salvation pretty easy. Didn't He say something like "Call on me and I will answer"? 

With the way John is presenting it, my lazy ass would rather just head to Hell rather than jump through all those heavenly hoops.

[Xan]

3 minutes ago, Woods Nymph said:

Wait, are these supposed instructions on how to be saved? It's been a while since I've cracked open a Bible but, as I recall, Jesus made the road to salvation pretty easy. Didn't He say something like "Call on me and I will answer"? 

If it was that easy, all those nice Zambians wouldn't need John, would they?  He has to make it complicated so he can preach for hours and stay in Zambia on Daddy's church's dime.  He'd much rather be in Africa listening to the sound of his own voice than in the USA working a regular job.

[postscript]

Whenever I see a picture of John, I’m always struck by how much older than his actual age he looks. Hairstyle, shirts, glasses are all deeply reminiscent of my grandfather in the 1950s, or perhaps Crispin Glover as the dad in the original Back to the Future. Couple that with the buzz cuts on the boys and his smug expression, and it’s like he’s cosplaying the Eisenhower era. 
 

edited to add: watched the music video. Boy, they make one long for the stylings of the Rodrigues family. 

Edited January 25, 2022 by postscript
Added a thought.

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, Woods Nymph said:

Wait, are these supposed instructions on how to be saved? It's been a while since I've cracked open a Bible but, as I recall, Jesus made the road to salvation pretty easy. Didn't He say something like "Call on me and I will answer"? 

With the way John is presenting it, my lazy ass would rather just head to Hell rather than jump through all those heavenly hoops.

But you're missing one important point - these are instructions on how to be saved in The Only John Shrader Patented, Approved and Tested Way! How can you be sure you're Saved if you haven't invested in these hoops? You might end up having to rededicate at every tent revival just to make sure! With the TOJSPATW you have the certainty of knowing that your soul has been saved by both Christ and John! How much I hear you ask? Well for only the low price of life-long subservience to John you too can be saved with the TOJSPATW! Additional approval hoops sold separately. May require some disassembly of critical thinking.

[Woods Nymph]

26 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

But you're missing one important point - these are instructions on how to be saved in The Only John Shrader Patented, Approved and Tested Way! How can you be sure you're Saved if you haven't invested in these hoops? You might end up having to rededicate at every tent revival just to make sure! With the TOJSPATW you have the certainty of knowing that your soul has been saved by both Christ and John! How much I hear you ask? Well for only the low price of life-long subservience to John you too can be saved with the TOJSPATW! Additional approval hoops sold separately. May require some disassembly of critical thinking.

I totally read this in Billy Mays' voice.

[thoughtful]

I'm somewhat frightened to ask - what is . . . this?

Spoiler

 

6 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

How can you be sure you're Saved if you haven't invested in these hoops?

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, thoughtful said:

I'm somewhat frightened to ask - what is . . . this?

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Fallopian tubes? All sin leads to Eve after all!