Collection 679: Oral History Interviews with John and Virginia Casto
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
- Casto, John. (Person)
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
- Atlantic City (N.J.)
- Bell, W. Roland, 1927-2008.
- Bromley, Percy L.
- Buddhism -- Thailand.
- Canadian Sunday School Mission.
- Christianity and culture -- Thailand.
- Church development, New -- Thailand.
- Conversion -- Personal narratives. -- Christianity.
- Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand.
- Evangelistic work -- Thailand.
- Fietje, Koos.
- Indigenous church administration -- Thailand.
- Jehovah's Witnesses.
- Lea, Arnold (H. Arnold J.)
- Leprosy -- Thailand.
- Lundgren, Ruby.
- Married people in missionary work.
- Mason, Clarence E.
- Maxwell, L. E.
- Medical care -- Thailand.
- Missionaries -- Retirement.
- Missions -- Thailand.
- Missions, medical -- Thailand
- OMF International.
- Persecution -- Thailand
- Pike, Kenneth L. (Kenneth Lee), 1912-2000.
- Prairie Bible Institute.
- Prostitution -- Thailand
- Song, Shangjie, 1901-1944.
- Suk, Phongnoi.
- Thai language
- Wayland Baptist College.
- Women missionaries.
- Women's Hospital of Philadelphia. School of Nursing.
- World Vision International.
Creator
- Casto, John. (Person)
- Casto, Virginia Greenwood. (Person)
- 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