Tropical Isles interviewed Mr. Churchill Edward remotely to learn about his background in Micronesia and his plans for its future. Read about his story and why we are so blessed to have him return to the GMM family.

Mr. Churchill Edward joined the Guam-Micronesia Mission in September 2019 as the new Director of Education for the Mission. He joined us from Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) where he served as the Director of Education for the public school system for three years.

His wife, Nancy-Lynn Edward, just recently moved to Guam along with two of their sons, Elessar Deyondre and Ozaias, and their grandson, Mandela. Stephanie, their eldest daughter, lives and works in Pohnpei. Their other two daughters and eldest son all currently live and work in Walla Walla, Washington -- daughter Myrna, her husband Tyler, and grandson Uriel; along with their youngest daughter Melanie; and son Jesse, his wife Julie, and granddaughter Jake Ella.

Churchill is no stranger to GMM, as he has held several positions working under the Mission. He served as a Youth Pastor for the Kolonia church from 1987 to 1989, and then after graduating from Walla Walla University with a Bachelors of Arts in Theology, he returned to Pohnpei where he worked as a pastor and high school teacher for several years before being accepted to work with the governments of Pohnpei and the FSM, including service as Lieutenant Governor.

We are excited and glad that God has led him to rejoin our team to help advance God’s work in our mission field. He will be overseeing eleven schools on nine islands from Palau all the way to the Marshall Islands. It is our prayer that Churchill will work with our schools to continue to improve its services to the deserving children of Micronesia. His work will focus heavily on maintaining accreditation standards both with the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) and the AAA (Adventist Accreditation Association). His focus will also entail building the professional capacity of his locally-based teachers, which he sees as a big concern for keeping schools operational. Just recently, GMM had to close 4 schools as most of the teachers were called home due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19. Other areas of priority include both the fiscal and physical conditions of the schools.

As a product of one of our schools, the Pohnpei SDA School, Churchill knows first-hand the magnitude of influence our schools have on our students. He was one of the first graduates of the Pohnpei SDA School back in 1985. Coming from a strong Protestant background, it was his time at the school that led him to a desire for a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Jesus and the Adventist church. His is simply one of many “success” stories that are cultivated in our schools and he hopes to work with our schools to continue this nurturing environment for our young minds.

We are thankful that God has led Mr. Churchill Edward and his family to our Guam-Micronesia Mission once again to serve as our Director of Education. We ask for your prayers as he continues to work with our schools through this pandemic.