Shrader Snapshots 2014

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Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,
This year we’ve seen the Lord do some amazing things.  As we come to the end of the year, we’d like to share a few of them with you.
At the Storehouse, it seems that we’ve managed to run off a few of the “wolves”.  At the end of last year we began to implement some small changes in our screening process to try and filter out some of the “shoppers” (people who don’t actually need help but simply take advantage of us because we’re there).  Often, they take the items we give them and sell them at yard sales and thrift stores.  This year, because of those changes, the total number of clients we helped declined, as did the average number of times we helped each family.  The reason we see that as a blessing from the Lord is that it means we were able to help more families who had real needs, and had fewer people take advantage of us. Praise the Lord for his protection!

Families waiting for food boxes on First Thursday.

For many folks, like the family that received these beds, asking for help is hard.  Many of them prefer not to have their picture taken, which is totally understandable.  Sometimes that makes it difficult to "show" you the ministry here, so we try to use stories.

Lily helping pass out a gospel DVD with a Thanksgiving meal.

Johnny says "Thank you!" from Daniel Shrader on Vimeo.
One of our clients would like you to know the Lord is in this place! And "Youins are doing a good thing!"

Many of the people we’ve helped have stories similar to a young lady named Abby.  She had an injury that made her unable to physically do her job, so she lost her job, and then her home. Unemployed and out of money, she moved in with a man she was not in a relationship with, just until she could get back on her feet.  Eventually, he insisted that if she was living with him she share his bed.  Rather than do that, she moved out immediately and left all her belongings except a small bag of clothing.  When she came to us looking for clothing, she’d been living in her car for a week with her young daughter.  A girlfriend had just taken her in temporarily to get her off the street, but she couldn’t stay because the landlord wouldn’t allow it.  She desperately needed housing and a job.  Dennyr and I helped her find clothing for her daughter and herself, and we also prayed with her, and shared the gospel with her.  She said she knew that we loved her and wanted to help, and that she could always come here for help, but she didn’t pray to receive Christ.  She’s just not there yet.  We referred her to the local transitional housing ministry, made her aware of some immediate job openings, and assured her we’d always be here to help.  Your giving helps keep us here.  Your praying helps soften hard hearts to the gospel.

Jeremiah joined our family for Thanksgiving. I snapped this of him reading Lily one of her Bibles after we ate lunch.

The highlight of the year in our benevolence ministry has been the launching of JobsforLife.  The Lord heard your prayers, and he answered them.  When I first met Jeremiah in August, he was unemployed, out of money, and taking care of his girlfriend and their 7 week old son. He needed a job, badly.  Having a baby made him acutely aware of his need for a career path and stable, long-term employment. He needed JobsforLife.  He also needed the Gospel.  As we began to meet for class, the Lord began to work in his life.  In the second week of JfL, he prayed to receive Christ and follow him as Lord.  Over the course of the class, he developed a quality resume, improved his interview skills, learned the value of character at work, and put together a three year vocational plan.  He also got two jobs as a part of his plan.  He’s been regularly attending church and Sunday school, and though we formally ended class, we still talk almost every week.  He’s growing in his faith, despite life being difficult and messy (his girlfriend left him and took their son with her).  I know he would appreciate your continued prayers in the year ahead as he continues toward a more stable career and works toward becoming a godly dad for his son.

I'm currently teaching the book of James to this fantastic group of students in the Seminary Extension.

Our year in church leader training experienced an unexpected turn when the Lord led my mentor, John Brown, to a new position in ministry with a different organization.  Our plans to write an advanced preaching curriculum for laymen have been tabled until after the DBC Mission’s Conference in January when we hope to re-form a team of guys to collaborate on the project.  Teaching at the Seminary Extension continues to go well.  Brother Willie who leads the program is presently looking for opportunities to expand regionally.  There is an opportunity for us to participate in that expansion, so please pray the Lord would open the right doors and guide us in the process.

Our family has had an excellent year.  Our children are delightful little people who have a zeal for life and people.  Lily has an incredibly active imagination and loves to pretend.  Hosea is curious and into everything. They keep us on our toes!

As we come to the end of this year, the Lord has been incredibly faithful to take care of our family financially.  Due to changes in their lives’ circumstances, a number of our monthly supporters were unable to continue their monthly support of our ministry this year.  Would you prayerfully consider giving a one-time gift this year to help us cover that shortfall while we work to encourage some new families to join our team as monthly supporters?  If you feel like the Lord is leading you to join us as a monthly partner, would you call me, email me, or shoot me a message on facebook?  Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Merry Christmas from Daniel, Meredith, Lily and Hosea!

Join Us at the DBC Missions Conference

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,


We wanted to personally invite you to join us (and dozens of other missionaries from around the world!)  at the Denton Bible Church Missions Conference.

The conference will be held January 16-17^th  

The elders, staff, and missionaries would like to invite you to celebrate what God is doing for His glory throughout the world. We will hear from the different fields, and have opportunities to attend breakout sessions hosted by our SERVE and affiliate missionaries. There is  also a program for children, ages 4 mo to 5^th grade. 

The conference is free but you do need to register.  For more information and to register go to: dbcm.org/conf2015.

Slow and steady in the midst of crazy busy...

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This beautiful lady had a birthday last month!

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

October was an exciting month for our family. Meredith turned 31, and Hosea celebrated his first birthday.  We had visits from both sets of grandparents, and we made a mad dash to North Carolina one weekend so I could hunt and fill the freezer. (Praise the Lord for his provision!)

Ministry at the Storehouse has been steady, but I'll share just one quick story.  Last week, a friend called and asked if we would take a futon bed.  He said it was very nice, but they no longer needed it. Last Friday I took some U-Turn guys with me to collect donations and this futon bed.  It was a beautiful futon.  On Tuesday, we called a Hispanic lady who had been waiting for a twin bed since March and asked her if she could use the futon.  She said yes, of course.  She called her husband at work and they promptly came to pick it up. You see, they have a severely disabled son who lives in a group home during the week. They are able to bring him home on the weekends, but he has not had his own bed to sleep on.  Now, he has a beautiful bed on which to sleep!  She was so thankful.  Praise the Lord for his provision for this sweet family.

We wrapped up JobsforLife with Jeremiah two weeks ago.  He's doing well, but I'm sure he appreciates your prayers going forward as he labors to implement the things he's learned, as well as to walk with the Lord. By God's grace we will launch JobsforLife round two in February after our return from the missions conference in Texas.

Last week I started teaching my fall seminary extension class at the Holston Baptist Association.  I'm teaching an exposition of the book of James, and it's been incredibly challenging personally.  James is in-your-face practical.  There are 12 students in the class, and the first two sessions have been fantastic.  Class picture to come in a future post.

This weekend is the first ever Missions Conference at Grace Church in Greenville, NC.  Grace is my home church, and I'm thrilled to see where the Lord has brought them over the last 15 years.  It will be my privilege to participate in the conference this weekend.  Please  pray for Meredith and the kids while I make another mad dash east this weekend.  My plan is to drive over on Saturday evening and back on Monday morning.

Thanksgiving is almost here!  Next week I'll be picking up turkeys at Second Harvest that we'll distribute the week of Thanksgiving.  Please be praying that the Lord would guide us to the families that need a special word of encouragement this holiday season.

Things you can be praying for this week...
1. Pray for Jeremiah as he walks with the Lord, that the Lord would give him wisdom and courage to endure the trials he is presently facing.
2. Pray for the seminary extension class, that the Lord would use our time learning from James to transform our lives and our communities.
3.  Please pray for Meredith and the kids as I go to the Grace Church missions conference this weekend, that the Lord would protect them while I'm gone.
4. Please pray for discernment as we seek families to especially bless over Thanksgiving.

Thank you for your prayers!  They keep us going!

Charlie with Herb, our landlord at the Storehouse.  He's been a huge blessing to our ministry!

We had a great group of clients for first Thursday!

We are blessed with a great group of volunteers who serve faithfully every month setting up, carrying baskets laden with food, and cleaning up. 

This big fella turned 1!

He's a neat eater, so he tried to find a small piece of cake.

So serious...but I think he liked it.

Hosea took mommy out to dinner to celebrate their birthdays!

And Lily wanted in the picture :)

We fed Hosea a lemon. Yes, we did.

He liked it so much he ate the whole thing!

This sweet girl is a ham, or perhaps, a "cheese"!

Homeschooling is going well.  Lily here is hard at work tracing her letters!

Lest you think she's all work and no play...growing up in East Tennessee, when she hears the bluegrass playing, she has to go dance!

One of our family's favorite fall traditions is going to pick pumpkins.  Hosea is ready!

"So Cute It's Scary"!

Yay for the hayride to the pumpkin patch!

I love my sweet girl!

The big cheese!

I did not steal the pumpkin!

I even got to pick some fresh Pink Lady apples! Our favorite!

Everybody look at the camera and smile!  Or not...

Closer...but it probably still won't make the Christmas card!

September is in the Books.

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I like to carry my toys in my teethe!

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

September has been an eventful month.  By God's grace we launched JobsforLife, and we are now almost half way through the program.  We had four students signed up and one follow through. He is at a place in his life where he's ready to make some major changes, and we've had a truly blessed time together over the past month. To this point he's shown great courage in facing some very real roadblocks in his life head on, and we are excited to see where the Lord takes him going forward.  Transformation takes time and endurance.  Please continue to pray that the Lord would bless our times together, and that Lord would give him the strength to persevere through his roadblocks.

JobsforLife!  Jeremiah, Dan, and me.

On a personal note, my back/leg pain got a lot worse about two weeks ago, so much worse that I was unable to stand for more than a minute or so, and unable to walk more than short distances.  At which point, I went to the doctor.  The PA took some x-rays of my spine and said it looks like I have a herniated/ruptured disc in my lower back, which would certainly explain the pain. The disc is pressing on the nerve in my spine, which creates the sharp pain and tingling in my leg and foot.  Ironically, this is exactly the same thing Earlene had surgery for in August. The good news for me at age 35 and otherwise healthy, is that there is a 90% chance I will recover with just physical therapy and rest.  The normal recovery period is three to six months, assuming I do all the therapy and don't lift anything heavy.  I have a follow up appointment with the back specialist on Friday of this week. Today, I am already beginning to feel slightly better.  I can stand or walk for five to ten minutes at a time, which is a huge improvement over a week ago.  I still can't lift anything while standing, which is a major lifestyle change with a 20 pound toddler in the house.  I would ask that you pray especially for Meredith, who already so works to hard to take care of our household.  Now she's having to do all the heavy lifting as well.  Please pray the Lord would give her strength and endurance.  Please pray that the Lord would grant me the patience to allow this injury to heal properly in due time.

It's also time to start preparing to attend the 2015 Denton Bible Church Missions Conference.  I don't know of any other place where you can personally interact with dozens of missionaries presently serving in more than a dozen different countries on five continents.  I invite to you to come and hear firsthand what the Lord is doing around the globe.  Come and meet men and women just like you who have surrendered their lives to serve the Lord wherever he leads them.  To my pastor and church leader friends reading this around the country, make plans to come. Bring your elders, deacons, and church leaders.  Come and see how the Lord is presently using a single church to make a global impact, and learn how your church can actively participate in the proclamation of the greatness of Christ to the ends of the earth.  It's worth making the trip!  The Shraders will be there!  The conference will be Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17.  We are planning to be in Denton from January 8-19.  DFW friends, we want to see you while we're in town!

Don't they look great?  Charlie and Earlene will also be at the Missions Conference! Come see them!

Things you can be praying for this week.
1. Pray that my back begins to heal, and that we're able to avoid surgery.
2. Pray for endurance for Meredith as she takes care of the three of us.
3. Pray that the Lord would continue to bless JobsforLife, and that he would grant our friend perseverance through the adversity and roadblocks in his life.

The weekend after Labor Day, our good friends the Kikers came for a visit!

Hosea and Rebekah had fun in the playhouse!

Sweet friends! It was so good to have them visit!

Lily and Lydia were super-cute playing dress-up together!

This guy will be a year old on October 7!  Where did the year go?

Yes dad, I can carry the monkey any way I like!

Meredith has also had to take over care of the garden, since it's harvest time! Here she is picking pole beans.  She picked and canned 14 quarts on a Saturday!

She also got to harvest our largest watermelon of the season, a thirty pounder!

He really is hysterical carrying things around in his mouth like a puppy!

They both like music.  Lily likes to "play songs" on daddy's guitar while Hosea bangs on it.

Lily loves to climb!

He loves to swing, and sister has learned how to push him in the swing!  We're blessed, because they really are sweet together.

Bye Bye!  See you next time!