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John Shrader 21: Nine Years in Zambia and Still Failing


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12 hours ago, Howl said:

This is a mind-blowing story.  It's about lack of public transportation in a sprawling city like Memphis, TN and how that adversely affects immigrants with no car and the working poor.  Makes me grateful, as a cyclist, that my city has a lot of cycling infrastructure in the form of bike lanes, some dedicated paths.  

I agree. I'm not sure why I assumed Memphis, as a reasonably sized city, would have better public transport and infrastructure but I did. The "rural city" (population then 14,000, now about 22,000) where I grew up has better transport networks, and much better infrastructure for both cycling and walking and it's still too car dependent. What really shocked me about the article though was when they basically said you couldn't get across the freeways as a pedestrian or cyclist - that is terrible design, where are the overpasses catering to pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users etc.? If the only way you can get from e.g. east to west across the freeway is in a vehicle, even if it's only 1km, then you effectively mandate having a car and decrease your activity levels.

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I do not want to disparage access to medical care in Zambia, but I do wonder if the Mears, as older folk, have taken health care into consideration.

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On 5/14/2023 at 6:20 AM, gustava said:

Wonder how  long it will be before John and the Mears become disillusioned with each other?  6 months?  And jeez-o-pete....lose those "Zambian" shirts!  Why do white saviors think they are appropriate!?!?!?!?

But how else would The Faithful know that they’re in sub-Saharan Africa?!

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I honestly had no idea that John was on the outskirts of a major city. The way he writes about it, I assumed they were super rural. So this highlights the question; how the heck does he think a major city has anyone who has has not heard of Jesus? What a buffoon. Poor Esther and the kids!

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1 hour ago, Expectopatronus said:

I honestly had no idea that John was on the outskirts of a major city. The way he writes about it, I assumed they were super rural. So this highlights the question; how the heck does he think a major city has anyone who has has not heard of Jesus? What a buffoon. Poor Esther and the kids!

To be fair, not many have heard of John’s exclusive brand of Supreme Truthiness Super Independent Ultra Historical Baptists of Subsaharan Africa. I dare say that globally, very few know of The One Right Way To Heaven According To And Ordained By John Schrader. 

It’s so exclusive that he has zero converts after all these years. 

Edited by apandaaries
Necessary revisions :)
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Sorry.  Posted on the wrong thread!  

(I really should have gone on to bed...)

Edited by Xan
Wrong thread!
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26 minutes ago, Xan said:

More videos from Jill's Mother's Day.  They're still at the park and Jill thinks it's hilarious when she gets all the boys to go down the kiddie slide.  She also says that Nurie and Nathan went back to Florida the day before Mother's Day.

  Hide contents

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She loves her children "to infinity and beyond".  Sounds like somebody has been watching "Toy Story".

@XanThis is the Shrader thread. 😃

Edited by marmalade
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17 minutes ago, marmalade said:

This is the Shrader thread.

Yes.  I just figured it out.  Thanks for catching it.

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The Mears are getting ready to leave for Kafue in a few days. Then we can start the clock on how long this relationship will last. Get your popcorn ready!

Mears latest post with their schedule in the spoiler

Spoiler

Our final day at Tri-County Baptist Church! We had our ordination during the morning service. I preached the morning message and then Pastor Shrader, Pastor Taylor, and Bro Robert Bottoms laid hands on us and prayed over Vicky and I sending us off to Zambia, Africa! It was a very emotional service for me because the people of Tri-County are our family now. Leaving here will be very hard but I know God has special plans for us in Africa! We leave for the Houston airport at 2:00 am Tuesday morning, 6 June. We will depart at 5 am for Chicago, IL, have a two hour layover then on to Ethiopia, Africa. From there, we will be heading to Harare, Africa and then on to Lusaka, Zambia. We will be arriving at 2:40 pm on 7 Jun. We appreciate your prayers as we go. Also, our shipping container has arrived in Zambia and it has been approved for it to be transported to our rental property in Kafue. Asking folks to pray for two things; that the container will not arrive on a day that Bro John is having a church service and that Bro John can locate a crane to unload the container off the truck onto the property. Thank you all so very much!

 

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Harare, Africa, huh? So the stupid has begun. He got Country, Continent, and then City, Continent. I’m looking forward to seeing the stupid inconsistencies continue. I expect to be sick of popcorn by the end of the summer. 

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Zambia, Africa? Ethiopia, Africa? As opposed to all the other Zambias and Ethiopias? And I suppose they are flying from the United States of America, North America? 

praying that the container won’t come on a day when John has a church meeting? John has an assortment of children, including a couple of adult sons, whom he can deputize to be there when the container comes. Oh wait, that’s giving up too much control for micromanager John. 

It will be interesting to see if the Satan versus motorcycle battle continues on this side of the Atlantic. Taking bets on whether the hog survived the trip intact. 

Edited by postscript
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23 minutes ago, Giraffe said:

Harare, Africa, huh? So the stupid has begun. He got Country, Continent, and then City, Continent. I’m looking forward to seeing the stupid inconsistencies continue. I expect to be sick of popcorn by the end of the summer. 

Not only that, he then said Lusaka, Zambia, so he then had City, Country. Three different combinations. Does he know where he's going?

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Oh dear. No way will John be able to locate a crane. John doesn’t plan. We know that from his own arrival in Zambia with his pregnant wife and a gaggle of young children. The Mears’s are going to find out very soon just how bad John is in real life. Shrader  senior will have talked John up to them for a while now. I’m convinced and concerned that Shrader Snr saw two gullible people with kind hearts and more importantly money then convinced them to join John. With their money being laundered through the church books somehow eventually ending up in John’s pockets. 

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2 hours ago, Gobsmacked said:

I’m convinced and concerned that Shrader Snr saw two gullible people with kind hearts and more importantly money then convinced them to join John.

I just can't feel the snark right now, knowing the disillusionment and heartbreak that could befall the Mears.  They seem so sincere and...clueless. 

Alternately, if Bro. Mears is used to following orders, maybe, just maybe, he'll find a way to get along with Bro. Schrader. 

At least they have a rental set up in advance. 

Hoping, just hoping, they will fall in love with Zambia and the Zambian people and culture.  Ya never know. 

Edited by Howl
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No sympathy whatsoever for the Mears.  They've met King John and presumably read his missives.  If they are blind to his idiocy, then that's on them.

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Just now, gustava said:

They've met King John and presumably read his missives.

My mind is a sieve these days. When did they meet John?  

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1 hour ago, Howl said:

My mind is a sieve these days. When did they meet John?  

It appears that Wade has been wanting to be a missionary for years.  He decided sometime last spring/summer that he wanted to do more than just attend his local church and asked his wife if she'd be willing to leave everything and work for the Lord overseas.  She obviously said yes.  As to how they came to pick John, I'm not sure.  The Mears' are independent fundamentalist Baptists and maybe there's a network of people praying for the missionaries?  Who knows?

They traveled over to Zambia last August and spent time with the Shraders so, yes, they should have some idea of what a bad decision they've made.  Wade says on Facebook, "Back to my calling in July. How in the world did I come up with Africa and the Shraders as the place to serve? No one wants to go to Africa! You here it all the time by "would be" missionaries...I'll go anywhere BUT Africa! But Bro John and Sister Esther kept coming to my mind. They had been serving in Zambia for 8 years with very little help from anyone. Ecclesiastes 4:10 came to my mind - For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth: for he hath not another to help him up. My thoughts were, I can be there to hold up the hands of the man of God! I asked my previous pastor, Denny Winborne, how did he know he had been called to preach? He said it wouldn't let him go! The same happened to me...the thought of going to help the Shraders wouldn't let me go either! But now the tough part...asking my beloved wife Vicky to follow me there!"

Recently, the Mears have been visiting with family and Vicky saw her mother for what may be the last time since Wade said they probably wouldn't be flying back to visit until 2025.  The mother seems to be in a nursing home near some of the extended family.  I would be impressed with how committed this couple is if it wasn't such a stupid idea.

For his part, John must still be collecting complaints because he's posted this kind of stuff lately:

Spoiler

Screenshot(14289).png.65ff654e5463820728d4458a8e8ec57a.png

He also did a long bit on George Muller, who "did not publish his needs to men, and thrilled to read the testimonies how God honored him and helped him time after time."  I guess money is tight and John is once again playing, "Who can send John money without John having to ask?"

I wouldn't be in the Mears' shoes for anything right now.  They're walking into a looming disaster.

Edited by Xan
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Where is he hearing that other missionaries want to go anywhere but Africa? Seems like all of these missionaries are eager to go to Africa because they still see it through the lens of 19th century colonialism. They quite clearly see themselves as bringing salvation and Western civilization to a bunch of natives living in grass huts. 

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Just now, postscript said:

Where is he hearing that other missionaries want to go anywhere but Africa? Seems like all of these missionaries are eager to go to Africa because they still see it through the lens of 19th century colonialism. They quite clearly see themselves as bringing salvation and Western civilization to a bunch of natives living in grass huts. 

I wondered the same. “Colonizing Africa” is still a romanticized teaching in some churches. I’m sure there are deconstructed missionary kids who read The Poisonwood Bible as non-fiction. 

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13 hours ago, Xan said:

For his part, John must still be collecting complaints because he's posted this kind of stuff lately:

  Hide contents

Screenshot(14289).png.65ff654e5463820728d4458a8e8ec57a.png

 

John only posted this because he wants to be the one doing the "correcting". He would not take kindly to being corrected himself. 

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On 5/28/2023 at 1:25 PM, Expectopatronus said:

I honestly had no idea that John was on the outskirts of a major city. The way he writes about it, I assumed they were super rural. So this highlights the question; how the heck does he think a major city has anyone who has has not heard of Jesus? What a buffoon. Poor Esther and the kids!

I looked up John's church on google maps. Pretty sure it's this one:

Spoiler

Screenshot_20230606_191357_Maps.thumb.jpg.388aca9d62ddb00163acf3c52ce89cdd.jpg

The images from the church look about right?

Spoiler

Screenshot_20230606_191947_Maps.thumb.jpg.153fa62fce6c531808ccf05f2ca442d7.jpg

Also taken by David Waller, which might fit. If that is the correct church they're near the outskirts but not exactly out bush.

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If that’s the church, they are roughing it approximately two miles from the mall.  😄

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5 flights getting progressively deeper into darkest Africa like Rider Haggard's King Solomons Mines and they end up 2 miles from a mall?

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14 hours ago, NoneIsEnough said:

John only posted this because he wants to be the one doing the "correcting". He would not take kindly to being corrected himself. 

Narcissists hate being challenged or corrected. John will end up in bed again soon. 

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Well, I for one am incredibly excited for the Mears’ arrival. First drama: the shipping container, crane, and the hog, along with all the “crazy” adjustments to subsaharan Africa. Very kind of them to schedule this during summer break. 
Any bets on the length of the honeymoon period? How long until the Mears see John for who he is? Two weeks? Two months? Three?

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