[Sly Fox]

..An Army chaplain on duty in Iraq says he was one of the men responsible for giving Ramadan "sensitivity training" to American soldiers during the recently concluded Islamic religious period. The evangelical Christian says there is a good reason why he did it. Major Derrick Riggs graduated from Liberty University and Dallas Theological Seminary. He is currently assigned to the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division in Tikrit, Iraq. During the recent Islamic month of Ramadan, Riggs says he joined other chaplains to teach the troops to be sensitive to Islamic customs during the period. "When we're out in the cities, we want to make sure we're being respectful of their culture or being respectful of the teachings of their religion so that, in essence, we don't create an international incident," the Army chaplain explains. Riggs says he knows some people back home do not believe an evangelical Christian should be teaching about Islam. "I understand that some people may think it's contrary to what we should be doing as evangelical Christians," he says, "but my mission out here is not to bring Christ to the Iraqis." Riggs says his mission is to take care of the spiritual needs of his troops, no matter what faith they profess. - Chad Groening

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/82006h.asp

[Tracey]

It was weird to get emails from Derrick when he was in Iraq. Somehow felt like the war was coming to me. I could not wrap my head around him being over there and taking time to email me. He is home safe and sound and as far as I know is still in NC.