John Shrader 21: Nine Years in Zambia and Still Failing

[Melissa1977]

On 3/3/2023 at 3:56 AM, Ozlsn said:

I'm surprised John's adult children are still there, surely they should need a different visa type now?

Every country has different immigration laws. Those kids have been living 9 years in Zambia so they may have some rights to stay. Probably getting a visa is easier there than in US (which, as far as I know, has harder immigration laws than many countries).

12 hours ago, Xan said:

What is clear to me now is that John was an abysmal failure.  His dad needed him married so he got in touch with Mike Keller

Esther cried for 3 days when she was told to marry him. I simply cannoy stand Mike Keller fake smile. He forced a mariage!  

[WannabeHistorian]

So what is going to happen with the adult kids? Are they just going to stay in Zambia with their parents? Surely some of them will want to get married. I doubt John will let any of them marry a local (regardless of skin tone) and there aren't many if any other missionary families with them. Will they be allowed to return to the US to find a partner? 

[Sops2]

I can see Jill Rodrigues shipping Timmy off to SubSaharan Africa, if the Heidi courtship falls through.

 

 

[Xan]

6 hours ago, NoneIsEnough said:

I think John already wants to be in control of who the Mears are visiting. So this Mike guy had to e-mail John in Zambia to then get in contact with Wade, but Wade can't contact churches on his own. How is that letting god choose where the Mears go if all the scheduing has to be done via John in Africa.

Thanks for digging through all those posts.  I think you're absolutely right.  John has to be in total control.  What I don't get is that John needs to get more supporting churches.  How can he do that if he's limiting Wade to only use the churches they already have?  And, as far as we can tell, none of those churches does a guaranteed monthly donation except for Rick's.  I suppose other churches might ask for documentation of results or ask to see how their money is spent.  Johnny simply can't have that.

[Botkinetti]

I think other churches have already seen John’s documentation and unimpressed have declined to send him money. John doesn’t want Wade to hear all this so is trying to control who he talks to . I wonder how quickly Wade’s eyes will be opened to the abysmal failure of John’s adventure in Zambia.

[Giraffe]

On 3/4/2023 at 10:22 PM, NoneIsEnough said:

Not long after this, Bro John and Sis Esther called us and we spent five hours talking on the phone! I asked Bro John if I needed to send him some oxygen? He said why? I said he would talk, talk, talk, deep breath, talk, talk, talk, deep breath, talk, talk, and talk! I was able to get a couple words in here and there. He said it was fellowship deprivation! We both laughed!

Ah, it's already going downhill, folks! They're laughing at this now but once they actually get to Zambia and the Mears realize that's John's default? Mears will not last long with John, even if they remain in Zambia after splitting with John's way. 

On 3/5/2023 at 2:22 AM, WannabeHistorian said:

So what is going to happen with the adult kids? Are they just going to stay in Zambia with their parents? Surely some of them will want to get married. I doubt John will let any of them marry a local (regardless of skin tone) and there aren't many if any other missionary families with them. Will they be allowed to return to the US to find a partner? 

John's marriage to Esther was a power move between John and Pa Keller so I'm sure John wouldn't have a problem shipping one of the girls off to the first suitor who paid her way back to the states in time for the wedding. The oldest girl helps too much so she won't be married off for a while but since John's marriage to Esther has been such a great thing (for John) he'll probably just put out "prayer requests" about spouses for the other kids and send them to whoever butters him up the best. 

[thoughtful]

I suppose it will never happen, but my fantasy is that the Mearses, Esther and all of the kids will leave, Rick's church will withdraw support, there are no more locals who aren't on to John so they all avoid him like the plague, and John will have to work at the Lusaka KFC to support himself.

Not that I'd wish that on the staff and customers of the KFC (and yes, I was going to say McDonald's, but I checked, and there aren't any in Zambia!).

Edited March 6, 2023 by thoughtful
clarity

[Ozlsn]

On 3/5/2023 at 6:59 AM, Xan said:

Now, Rick is trying to get John a helper and maybe someone who can bring in financial support.  Rick's not getting any younger and John's not becoming less crazy.

This is where Rick should be realising that actually getting John appropriate psychiatric help earlier would have been a lot cheaper in the long run. It's not just John he needs to support but also Esther and the hopefully not increasing again number of blessings, who will remain dependent for at least another 18 years.

[Xan]

Oh dear.  Someone is being mean to John again.  Of course, it's all okay because he's just being a good soldier for God.  I wonder what the "recent events" are?

Spoiler

 

[Giraffe]

Knowing John it's probably something profoundly stupid like Zambia's continued "persecution" of the Mears' motorcycle. 

 

[KnittingOwl]

6 hours ago, Giraffe said:

Knowing John it's probably something profoundly stupid like Zambia's continued "persecution" of the Mears' motorcycle. 

 

Or worse: the motorcycle is coming, but John STILL doesn’t have a working plane despite all his sacrifices and hard work in sub-Saharan Africa in the last nine years!!!

[Howl]

On 3/6/2023 at 7:49 AM, Giraffe said:

Ah, it's already going downhill, folks! They're laughing at this now but once they actually get to Zambia and the Mears realize that's John's default? Mears will not last long with John, even if they remain in Zambia after splitting with John's way. 

A bit of a window into a Bro. John manic phase.  He'll take to his bed soon enough.  

Who knows, maybe the Mears will step in when John is down.

I have a sense that Mears might be even more hard headed than John, so at some point...

Interesting times ahead in Sub Saharan Africa. 

[formergothardite]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:23 PM, Coconut Flan said:

Unless I'm imagining it, it was the music the dealership played.

Yep. They played contemporary Christian music and John was very dramatic about it. It sounded like his dad had pulled some strings to get him a job with a local Christian used car business, but John was John and it didn’t last long. 

[NoneIsEnough]

I was starting to get worried about the Mears Motorcycle Mixup Mess (to be alliterative like John) but it seems that god cared so much about this motorcycle he intervened directly, but only after causing the delay itself to begin with. What a tease god is! Lol

This is from Wade:

Quote

Well we have an amazing God! He led the US Postal Service to my motorcycle title package and it has been found and delivered to the shipping container company as of this afternoon. They are working the paperwork side to get our container picked up on 23 March.

I do now know why the title was lost...God wanted the shipping container painted before it was picked up. Pastor Shrader and Pastor Taylor and one of our church member's put together a painting party while Vicky and I were in New Orleans, LA and Vicksburg, MS for a week (Chapter 30 coming soon!). Pastor Shrader ran all over Houston getting the needed paint. He and Pastor Taylor helped sand, grind, tape, and Pastor Taylor painted the majority of the container! It looks absolutely amazing! I'm so grateful to these two men of God for this labor of love for us!

I want to thank all those who have been faithfully praying for us about this situation. God has once again showed us He wants us in Zambia and has provided a special blessing that we weren't even expecting!

 

[thoughtful]

46 minutes ago, NoneIsEnough said:

What a tease god is! Lol

Everybody sing!

What a mind-fuck God we serve!
What a mocking God we serve.
Paperwork went out of sight,
’Cause he wanted our box white.
What a teasing God we serve!

What a mind-fuck God we serve!
What a mocking God we serve.
Zambia without a bike,
He knew I could never like,
What a teasing God we serve!

What a mind-fuck God we serve!
What a mocking God we serve.
Now I am without complaint,
He just wanted us to paint,
What a teasing God we serve!

Spoiler

 

[Xan]

This just highlights the crazy mental convolutions of John, Wade, and the other fundies. 

"I fell down but didn't break anything.  God was watching over me!"

    But didn't He let you fall in the first place?

"I got really sick but with medical care and God's help, now I'm better."

    But He let you get really sick, didn't He?

"God wanted our shipping container painted!"

    Uh, you mean the all-powerful God who watches over billions of people?  And He needed the container painted?  Why? 

I suppose it's comforting to think that someone else is in charge and making sure that they are protected.  I'm just surprised that He gets all the credit but none of the blame.  A small child dies from cancer?  God's will.  Another small child cured of cancer?  God wanted that child to get better.  That's quite a capricious deity.

(I apologize for stepping on toes here.  I know that some FreeJingerites are believers and I'm not trying to be disrespectful.  I just honestly don't understand the rational thought behind a lot of this.)

[thoughtful]

I didn't forget.

John looks in the mirror and sings:

The sinners are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in hell’s belly tonight.
There are men in Lusaka with no God in their heart,
And their eyes shining, oh, so bright.
There's evil in the air, Pentecostals in the town,
And some Catholics on the bloodshot streets.
So, I talk and I lecture ’til their gorges are rising,
Oh, I swear I saw a young boy out in the pews there,
He was starting to foam in the heat.

Oh, Johnny, you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right.
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light.
And I gotta share that, I gotta break it out now
Before the final Rapture calls.
So I hope Wade Mears will share his cool bike with me, please God,
When it gets here, I want to feel it ’neath my balls!

Like a bat out of hell, I'll save souls with that hog to help!
Oh, with a motorcycle, I’ll keep souls out of hell they’ll be saved, saved, saved!
Like a bat out of hell, I'll save souls with that hog to help!
And when the day is done and I’ve preached and preached,
To the ones who couldn’t see,
Then like a sinner before the gates of Heaven,
They’ll come crawlin' on back to me.

I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram
On a silver black Phantom bike.
Oh, when the metal is hot and the engine is hungry
Then they’re all about to see the light.
No one ever stays or will give me their soul
Everyone is sinning and lost.
And no one really cares and no one is convinced.
But Esther says it’s worth the cost.
And I know that they’re damned if I never get them
And baby, they’re saved if I do.
So if only I can get my hot hands on you, bike,
You know I'll save all the damned with you.
I say I’ll save all the damned, you know I’ll save all the damned,
Riding through the night with you.
Well, yes, I’ll save all the damned, you know I’ll save all the damned
Save all the damned, you know I’ll save all the damned
Save all the damned, you know I’ll save all the damned
Riding through the night, Riding through the night
Riding through the night with you!

Spoiler

 

 

[Xan]

The saga of the motorcycle just goes on.  Apparently, Wade was trying to load it into the shipping container and knocked a hole in the gas tank shield.  John (now the authority on all things) has assured him that it can be cheaply repaired in Zambia.  Myself, I think trying to find a gas tank shield in Zambia is a long shot but what do I know?  Maybe someone there will make one out of scrap metal and John will say that God had a hand in it.

Spoiler

There's a video and we see John's dad, Rick, riding the motorcycle around the church yard.  We also see what's loaded into the shipping container.  There are lawnmowers, furniture, printed chapters of John and Romans (doesn't John have a PRINT ministry that can do this already?), and what looks like a baby seat for the newest Shrader.  

Spoiler

I have no idea of the weight limit on that sad mess of a shipping container but I wouldn't be surprised if it's overloaded and just spills out the contents somewhere between Texas and Zambia.  These people really don't think things through...

[Xan]

New post up from John.  There is a couple who John has been browbeating into his version of salvation.  The husband is very ill and in the hospital.  (I'm not including their picture because I feel John didn't respect their privacy.)  Is Johnny worried about the man getting well?  Nope.  He's worried that the man might not be able to "clearly hear the Gospel of Christ".  

If I'm ever in a Zambian hospital, somebody please keep John Shrader way the hell away from me.

Spoiler

 

[thoughtful]

He really is a vulture.

No, scratch that - vultures serve an important ecological function. John is just a ghoul.

[Giraffe]

They’re shipping an armoire? Wouldn’t their money be better spent selling the armoire here and using those funds to purchase a different one in Zambia? I’d say the same about the motorcycle. I know things can have sentimental value but this seems like such a waste. I’m just a godless heathen who doesn’t believe there’s a value in missionary “work,” though, so what do I know?

[NoneIsEnough]

3 hours ago, Xan said:

New post up from John.  There is a couple who John has been browbeating into his version of salvation.  The husband is very ill and in the hospital.  (I'm not including their picture because I feel John didn't respect their privacy.)  Is Johnny worried about the man getting well?  Nope.  He's worried that the man might not be able to "clearly hear the Gospel of Christ".  

If I'm ever in a Zambian hospital, somebody please keep John Shrader way the hell away from me.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Thie picture has now been removed, and John added this to his post

"(*picture removed at the demand of the family of Joseph)"

Good for them! 

Also I was having the same thoughts about the shipping container. I'm not confident that it's ever going to turn up in Zambia. And if so then what are they going to do with it? Just leave it in the yard? I think Wade said it was purchased, not rented. But correct me if I'm wrong about that. 

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, Giraffe said:

They’re shipping an armoire? Wouldn’t their money be better spent selling the armoire here and using those funds to purchase a different one in Zambia? I’d say the same about the motorcycle. I know things can have sentimental value but this seems like such a waste. I’m just a godless heathen who doesn’t believe there’s a value in missionary “work,” though, so what do I know?

They really seem to be shipping all their possessions, which doesn't bode well for their future when it all goes horribly and predictably wrong.

Also the number of minor things going wrong here, are they sure God doesn't want them to stay in the USA and be missionaries to the locals?

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, NoneIsEnough said:

(*picture removed at the demand of the family of Joseph)"

What. A. Tool. John could have phrased it as "at the request of", but either he's pissed because how dare they tell him what to do or it started as a request and then became a demand when he refused.

Either way peak John, shining the light and love of Christ into his tiny corner of Zambia and winning over the locals... /s

Edited March 16, 2023 by Ozlsn

[Xan]

1 hour ago, NoneIsEnough said:

Thie picture has now been removed, and John added this to his post

"(*picture removed at the demand of the family of Joseph)"

Good for them! 

Now the entire post is gone.  I truly hope that the local Zambians have wised up to John and are starting to watch his Facebook page.  Maybe they can start figuring a way to get him to leave.  He's been playing out his own little personal drama for long enough.  He needs to be shipped back to the USA and maybe get some psychiatric help.

Here's a clue, John.  You've saved anybody you were going to save.  The rest of this is just you massaging your ego and pretending that God placed you in Africa to be a minor prophet.  He didn't.  Go home.