Gayle Williams – Compassion Like Christ

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2Corinthians 4:11)

Christians are motivated by their love for Jesus and others to go into very dangerous places in order to help people. One such woman was Gayle Williams. Gayle was a physical therapist who went to Kabul, Afghanistan to work with children who were injured by landmines in the recent Middle East war.

Gayle had been working in Kandahar, but the threats of death and kidnapping were so great that she went to Kabul where it was supposed to be safer. On her way to her office two men on motorcycles rode up to her and shot her. She died almost immediately according to witnesses.

Gayle had been serving a people that she loved. She believed God called her to Afghanistan to work among the marginalized, especially children, who had been injured in the Middle Eastern war. She gave her life to the disadvantaged and forgotten, helping them to get their lives back on track after the war.

Gayle was an unpaid volunteer working with the SERVE Afghanistan organization for about two and a half years. She wanted to raise awareness of disabilities in Afghanistan and as a physical therapist she was trying to work with people in their homes. She was passionate about her work and everyone who knew her described her as a lovely girl.

Gayle had dual British and South African citizenship. She was brought up in South Africa but spent some years in Britain. Gayle spoke the local languages in Afghanistan, Pashtu and Dari.

The SERVE organization sent Gayle to Kabul from Kandahar believing that it would be safer. In fact, the Taliban had been stepping up the killings of relief workers, especially Christians. Three other female Christian relief workers were ambushed and killed in August of that year.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing, saying that its leaders ordered Miss Williams’ assassination because she was “spreading Christianity”. The director of SERVE Afghanistan said that it was only a convenient excuse for a “completely opportunistic” killing. The Muslims were resentful of Christian organizations that were working in their country. The director of SERVE also said that Gayle was not proselytizing. She was sharing the Gospel by loving others the way Christ would – working among the poor and disadvantaged.

Why would anyone go to such a dangerous place? The volunteers at SERVE could not turn down the pleas of the Afghan people for help. They knew that it was dangerous but the call of God on their lives to serve these poor people in the name of Jesus was very great. They went willingly, knowing the risks.

How do we understand why the militant Muslims would kill kind people who only came to their country to help the disabled and injured?

Islam is an evil religion. It is not just a religion; it is a Muslim’s total way of life including their government. In most Islamic countries it is against the law to be anything else. All other faiths are persecuted.

Many people think that Muslims are peaceful. Maybe the ones who have escaped their oppressive countries and come to the freedom of the United States are peaceful. But in the main, the Muslim world is an evil, oppressive world. Please get a copy of the Koran and read all of the places where Muhammad tells his followers to kill infidels. For Muslims there is only “them” – infidels, and “us” – the followers of Allah. Allah is NOT the God of the Bible by the way. Allah is hateful, vengeful, autocratic, and a persecutor of women and children. The Muslim religion is nothing like Christianity or Judaism.

So Muslim people need to hear the Gospel very much. They need to hear the good news of forgiveness of sins and life in Jesus Christ. They need to come out of their dark religion into the light of Christianity.

What can we do?

First of all we can pray. Muslims are lost just like anyone else who denies the Lord Jesus Christ. We must witness to the truth to all of the Muslims. Our missionaries need our prayer support very badly; they are going into some of the darkest places on earth spiritually. The persecutions and killings of Christian aid workers has gone unanswered by our government. Loving, compassionate Christians who go to Muslim countries are risking all for the Gospel.

Secondly, we need to educate ourselves as to the truth of Islam. It really is an evil religion and it has an evil founder, Muhammad. What kind of a ruler are the Muslim people following? Like all false prophets, Muhammad was full of conceit.

Muhammad called his followers to wage war on all those who are not Muslims. In the Koran is this verse, “Let those who would exchange the life of this world for the hereafter, fight for the cause of Allah.” If a Muslim wants to go to paradise “jihad is the only way to guarantee their entry to paradise in the hereafter.” No, the Muslim religion is NOT a peaceful religion.

Islam differs from other religions in that it not only threatens hell for nonbelievers; it also threatens death. People blindly follow Muhammad’s teachings because they fear the feeling of sword at their throat.

This great fear keeps people in subservience to their leaders. Islam is against freedom for everyone except the leaders.

True freedom is found only in Jesus Christ.

Gayle Williams was willing to risk her life to share this freedom with others.

At her memorial service her mother said, “We know her life was blessed and she was a blessing to those around her. No one could have asked for a more humble daughter with a loving heart.”

Her colleagues praised her saying, “Gayle never spoke of the rigours and privations of aid work in Kandahar, one of the most difficult places for a young woman to work in the world, but she kept a smile on her face and always had a good-humored chuckle at the difficulties she must have endured. Gayle will be remembered as one of the inspiring people of the world who truly put others before herself.” Gayle was a true follower of Christ.

Gayle is in Heaven now with the Savior that she was privileged to serve. She joins other Christian aid workers, including Cheryl Beckett who was murdered along with nine other aid workers only a few weeks later.

Cheryl’s story will be told in next week’s post.