......The Persecuted

On a day when I was reading some news stories about the persecution of Christians in Iraq, the tragic shooting of 34 year old Gayle Williams by the Taleban in Kabul, Afghanistan also hit the headlines. Her body was peppered with bullets as she made her way to her office where she volunteered for a charity working among people with disabilities.




Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP that they killed Ms Williams "because she was working for an organisation which was preaching Christianity in Afghanistan"

At Zac's Place we have an art commission based on the Beatitudes. We shall be adding Gayle's name to the sculpture that was inspired by Jesus words 'Blessed are the persecuted...' It depicts hundreds of faces and hundreds of crosses separated by a river of blood and barbed wire, symbolizing those imprisoned and martyred for the Faith in recent years.



For those choosing to work in hostile environments takes courage born of faith and their stories should not just remain a story, but a challenge. It will never cease to amaze me just how threatening a life lived in love can be...


My prayers are for Gayles colleagues and family - for her, I am sure she is now indeed Blessed.