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Collection 679: Oral History Interviews with John and Virginia Casto

 Collection
Identifier: CN 679

Scope and Contents

Oral history interviews with John and Virginia Casto. Topics discussed include their family backgrounds; their education at Prairie Bible Institute and elsewhere; marriage; work in Thailand as missionaries with Overseas Missionary Fellowship in hospital evangelism, nursing, and church planting; the Thai church; raising a family on the mission field.

The Castos were interviewed by Bob Shuster on August 14 and 14, 2015 and August 19, 2016 at the Calvary Fellowship Homes in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Dates

  • 2015-2016

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright to the sound recordings in this collection is held by the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Archives.

Biographical Information

Full name: John James Casto

Birth: October 1929 in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Death: February 20, 2019 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Family

Parents: James Miller and Margaret Casto

Siblings: Two brothers

Marital Status: Married Virginia Greenwood in 1959

Children: Five sons

Conversion: At age twelve

Education

1950-1952 - Two years at Wayland Baptist College, Plainview Texas

1953? -1956 - Prairie Bible Institute, Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. Worked with the Canadian Sunday School Mission in British Columbia during the summers

Summer 1956? - Attended the Canadian branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics

Career

Summer 1946 - Counselor at Camp Edge Boy Scout Camp Edge in Alloway, New Jersey

1947-1950 - Joined Army at 17, while stationed in Honolulu helped to start and joined a Southern Baptist church

1952? -1953? - Federal Reserve Bank, Los Angeles, California

1956 - Did mission for the Canadian Sunday School Mission in Saskatchewan, Canada

Fall 1956 - Joined OMF and attended candidate school in Philadelphia, where he met his wife

1957-1958 - Attended Central Language School in Singapore

1958-1961 - OMF worker in Manorom District, Thailand

*****

Full name: Virginia Greenwood Casto

Birth: July 28, 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Family

Parents: Samuel and Virginia Greenwood

Siblings: One sister

Marital Status: Married John Casto in 1959

Children: Five sons

Conversion: At age fifteen

Education

Dates unknown - Philadelphia High School for Girls, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1948? - 1951? - Nurses training for three years at the Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1952? - 1955? - Attended Prairie Bible Institute

Career

1951? - 1952? - Registered Nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for one year

Summer 1954? - Nurse at Nootka Mission hospital in Vancouver, Canada

1955? – 1956? - Heartsease Home for Women and Babies, New York City, New York

1957-1958 - Joined Wycliffe Bible Translators, attended Central language School in Singapore

1958-1959 - OMF worker in Angthing, Thailand

1959-1961 - OMF worker in Manorom District, Thailand

*****

Joint Biography for John and Virginia Casto

1961-1962 - Furlough in United States

1962-1964 - OMF workers in Tatago, Thailand

1964-1966 - OMF workers in Paknampho, Thailand

1966-1967 - Furlough in United States

1967-1968 - OMF workers in Bangkok, Thailand

1968-1971 - OMF workers in Paknampho, Thailand

1971-1972 - Furlough in United States

1972-1978 - OMF workers in Uthai province, Thailand. Work involved team evangelism and church planting with pastors Samryt, Boon-Me, and Yu

1975-1976 - Furlough in the United States

1977-1985 - OMF worked in Ban Rai, Thailand

1982-1984 - Sabbatical in the United States

1984-1988 - Book cart ministry in Ban Mi, Thailand

1988-1989 - OMF home assignment in the United State

1989 - OMF workers in Ban Mi

1990 - OMF workers in Ban Rai

1993 - Retired from OMF

Extent

3 Sound Recordings

359 Minutes

Language of Materials

English

Accruals and Additions

The materials in this collection were given to the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Archives by John and Virginian Casto in August 2015 and August 2016.

June 15, 2020

Accessions: 15-28, 15-29, 16-27

Bob Shuster

Title
Collection 679: Oral History Interviews with John and Virginia Casto
Author
Bob Shuster
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Roman Script

Repository Details

Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository

Contact:
501 College Avenue
Wheaton IL 60187 US
630-752-5910