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COMPILED BY LANCE COLKMIRE
Life in the Shadow of War
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.— and her husband have previously
Richard Johnson has been served three short-term missionary
serving as a military contractor appointments to the Philippines
in Iraq for nearly four years and led congregations in Kansas
while his wife, Linda, has and Hawaii. Richard deployed to
remained in the U.S., where Iraq in August 2005, and as Linda
reports of “dirty” contracting kept a journal for him, she wrote
practices and worries about of events going on around her
her husband’s safety
have troubled her. In
response, she has writ-
ten a book, Living in the
Shadow of the Iraq Con-
flict, “to put an Ameri-
can face to military
contractors,” Johnson Richard
said. She also wants to
and Linda
clear up some miscon-
Johnson
ceptions about “all”
contractors taking and inside Iraq. These notes where contractors and military
advantage and profit- formed the basis for her book, personnel can comment and
ing off the war. The which both see as a ministry tool receive assistance from a
book was nationally to some 190,000 contractor fami- chaplain within the Church
released on May 12. lies who have served at the side of God. She issues a chal-
An ordained of the U.S. military in Iraq and lenge for unity and support
Church of God minister Afghanistan since 2003. to back up these families who
and community ser- The Johnsons have a Web have oftentimes been “in
vices chaplain, Linda site—www.shadowsofiraq.com— the shadows.”
Patten Singers Perform
group to perform. Among those Dianne Feinstein and Barbara
speaking were Governor Arnold Boxer, and State Attorney Gen-
Schwarzenegger, Senators eral Jerry Brown.
OAKLAND, Calif.—Mourners As part of the service, the Pat-
from around the country filled ten Singers from Patten Universi-
the 16,900-seat Oracle Arena on ty, a university affiliated with the
March 27 for the joint funeral of Church of God, were honored to
four local police officers gunned perform “The Star-Spangled Ban-
down days earlier. Officers Mark ner,” as arranged by David Hor-
Dunakin, John Hege, Ervin ton, under the direction of Sandi
Romans, and Daniel Sakai were King. As a representation of the
killed by a parolee after a traffic Oakland religious community,
stop that turned into a gunfight. the Singers were the only musical
28 EVANGEL • JUNE 2009
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