Terpstra's Biography written by Michael Terpstra Chester Terpstra was born on September 4^th, 1927 in Allegan, Michigan.  Margery Williams was born on March 20^th, 1925 in Portland, Oregon.  Chester and Margery met at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois in the fall of 1943.  Chester graduated earlier that year and was teaching Biblical Studies as a graduate student.  Margery as a freshman that year took the required Bible course, which by chance was taught by Chet, a divinity student. The abbreviated version of their biography is that Chester graduated with a Master of Arts in Theology in June of 1945 and then was ordained by the Wheaton Bible Church that same month.  Margery planned to work on pre-medical studies with the dream of becoming a Medical Missionary.  The missionary vision was primarily Margery's thus influencing the young couple to seeking a Missionary career.  During WWII, Papasan (Paul B. Waterhouse) was recruiting dedicated Christian workers to go to the Territory of Hawaii and work for the Honolulu Bible Training School [HBTS} which taught release time Christian Bible Class to school children.  After Margery and Chester married on August 10^th, 1945 they answered the call to the HBTS ministry in Hawaii.  Because of their work in Honolulu, the Kaimuki Bible Training School eventually formed the Kaimuki Evangelical Church. The Protestant missionaries that brought the Christian Gospel to Micronesia prior to WWII were commissioned by the Boston, Massachusetts-based American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.  After the US received the oversight of Micronesia after WWII, the government through the Navy asked the indigenous Micronesians who they wanted as missionaries. The request was for the group that had originally sent out missionaries.  While still in Hawaii, Chester received correspondence from Protestant leaders on Ponape (Pohnpei) requesting that they come as soon as possible.   On February 17, 1950, Rev. Chet Terpstra, Margery and their sons, Michael and Merrill, sailed from Pearl Harbor on the USS Breckinridge to the islands of Micronesia. The Terpstras were the first Protestant missionaries to arrive in Micronesia after the end of WWII.  Their mission was very similar to what was expressed for the original Ohwa, Pohnpei mission.  Ohwa was ceded land in 1886 to establish a mission and school. The vision at the time is not much different than for the arrivals in the 20^th century. The two purposes in the original statement are: 1) to teach a background on Christianity so that Pohnpeians could grasp the full implication of Christianity, and 2) to prepare pastors, teachers and lay leaders for a native Church. Chester and Margery immediately opened the first class of Ohwa Christian Training Schools (OCTS) and in 1953 started the Pastors/Teachers Training School which drew students from Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia (FSM).   Their work also included strengthening the established Protestant churches.  During the decade spent in the field, a third son was born. In addition, Chet earned a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Margery, along with her three sons, Michael, Merrill and Marshall, left Pohnpei in August 1960. After wrapping up his work at Ohwa, Chester Terpstra followed them to the United States on December 31, 1960. After a short stint in Portland, Oregon, the Terpstra family returned to Hawaii where Chester took on a ministry on Kauai.  In 1963 Chester and Margery Terpstra settled once again in Honolulu where their ministry started almost 20 years before. Chester accepted the senior pastor position at Makiki Christian Church in 1963.  He had served Makiki Church previously as the third pastor for the English-speaking congregation (1947  - 1948).  While at Makiki, Margery was very instrumental in starting a pre-school, a counseling center, and a thrift shop.  In 1969 Dr. Terpstra left Makiki Christian Church to become the Conference Minister and General Secretary of the HCUCC.   He remained in that capacity until 1978 when he returned to the pastoral ministry at Central Union Church until he retired as Pastor Emeritus in 1988.  While Margery and Chet were at Central Union Church, Margery  significantly contributed to the establishment of the Pohnpeian Ministry as an extension of the Central Union Church's Wider Church Mission.