Heroine Interview from The Next Target by Nikki Arana

» Posted on Aug 2, 2012 in Blog | Comments Off on Heroine Interview from The Next Target by Nikki Arana

This week I’m hosting Kay Marshall Strom with The Love of Divena, Linda Rondeau with America II The Reformation (see below about giveaway) and Nikki Arana with The Next Target (giveaway for US only).  Linda Rondeau’s giveaway: if 15 or more original comments are left (not including Linda’s responses) she will award a copy of her award-winning novel, The Other Side of Darkness. If less than 15 and more than ten, she’ll give away a $5.00 Starbucks coupon.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (August 5th) evening.

Interview with the heroine from The Next Target by Nikki Arana:

1.  Jonati Castillo, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I have dedicated my life to serving Muslims in the United States . . . even though it was Islamists who murdered my husband. After my husband’s death, the Lord spoke to my heart. He reminded me that the only answer to such spiritual blindness, the only way to stop the killing, was to seek the hearts of the Muslim people. And God willing, touch them and change them with the love of Christ. That spiritual truth rooted in my heart. I could make of the rest of my life what I wished. The choice was mine.

2.  What do you do for fun?

It is rare that I have time for fun because my work puts me in danger in unexpected ways. I can never let my guard down. But fun for me would be spending time with my brother, the only living family I have, and close friends who I trust.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Mending. I hate mending clothes, sewing on buttons, shortening my pants, things like that.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

The spirit of fear. It is truly a tool of Satan that he uses to try and stop me from responding to the call God has on my life. Evangelizing and providing safe houses for former Muslims can be scary. It forced me to confront the question: Would I share my faith if it would cost me my life?

God provided that answer to me through an apostate I was helping. It was at a very low point during the time he was in hiding in a Middle Eastern country. We were discussing the fact that he might soon be put to death. He said, “If I have to die here I doesn’t care. I already gave my life to Christ.” Those few words, spoken from that man’s heart, changed my life forever. It is something that I speak to that spirit of fear when it tries to gain entry to my mind and emotions. “I have nothing to fear from you. I have given my life to Christ. My life is in Him. The only way to kill me is to kill Him.” That  usually results in me regaining my peace and joy.

5.  What do you want out of life?

When my time here is over, I want to know that my life mattered. That the world is a little better because I was here. That when God needed a vessel, He found me willing.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

The most important thing to me is to never forget that I am not meant to serve man, I am meant for God to serve man through me. Especially persecuted Christians. I have dedicated my life to finding safety for them.

7.  Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?

My favorite type of book to read is non-fiction. Watchman Nee and Oswald Chambers are my favorite authors.

8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

That I would be more tolerant and more patient. This is a constant struggle. My life experience has taught me that operating out of my own thinking always leads to trouble. At the time, what I should do or what someone else should do seems obvious. Surely, it is God’s will, I think to myself. Wrong. If it is a conclusion coming from my logical . . .  might as well call it what it is . . . fleshy mind. God’s ways are not our ways. And I seldom see the end from the beginning. Redirecting people out of God’s will is so dangerous, yet so easy to do.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

No pet.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I would go back to the 1600s and visit Jeanne Guyon. I am fascinated by this woman who taught that spiritual perfection can be attained when self is lost in the contemplation of God. This was her life experience, but unfortunately it was completely against the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century. She was put in prison for her faith in a Christ who desired intimacy with His followers. She taught others how to pray to establish intimacy with Him. I have her book on that and have used it in my prayer time.  I would love to visit her in prison and hear about her union with God.