The coronavirus outbreak ruined a lot of spring break plans, especially for long-distance trips, but it didn’t stop junior Kiana Casto from going to serve with missionaries in Arizona.
“The funding was all there and had come in so quickly that I couldn’t deny it to be Jesus opening the door,” said Casto. “Since it was stateside, I still had the ‘okay’ from WGM to go, and my flights weren’t cancelled. I know it may have been foolish, but I really didn’t see it as unsafe to go. Arizona doesn’t have a huge COVID-19 count and I knew everyone would be taking precautions.”
Although her trip proceeded, things did look different.
“It was really wild to see so many things empty that would have been full, it was especially eerie for flying home,” said Casto. “My flight was at least half empty. I then landed in Cincinnati, which was absolutely empty. My original plan was to fly from Phoenix to Chicago to Cincinnati, but my connecting flight got cancelled. I had several groups planned and camps planned around [Arizona] that got cancelled because of the virus. This, however, opened doors to be able to make loads of connections with people I may not have gotten a chance to meet with.”
Over spring break, Casto traveled to both Phoenix and Peoria, Arizona. Her trip was through World Gospel Mission (WGM), and during her time on the field she worked at one of their ministry centers where she ministered to Native Americans.
“I did a lot of one-on-one connections. The natives are very based in storytelling, so I got a lot of chances to listen to them and hear what God has done for them,” said Casto. “I also got a chance to help with church on Sunday and do various things around the ministry center like laundry, cleaning and sending support letters.”
Casto has a heart for ministry, and is a psychology major and equine studies minor. In the future, she plans on going into counseling and this trip gave her the opportunity to get a glimpse of what her future career will be like.
“Probably my favorite part of the trip was getting to spend some time with a man who is from the Lakota tribe who is a counselor and a professor at a local college, she said. “Among many things, he encouraged me to write out what I want my counseling practice to be like and then the Lord just opened up a bunch of doors in what my practice is going to look like. Truthfully, this whole trip just showed me how faithful God is and how worthy he is to be trusted.”