Marvin and Marilynn English of Simpsonville have undertaken a unique missions opportunity that they hope will be a blessing to many children thousands of miles away.
In May, they attended a senior citizens choir festival at Edwards Road Baptist Church in Greenville, where they were approached by a friend, Pat Boyce, with an unusual request. Could Marvin cut out some small wooden crosses for an overseas missions project?
Marvin, an accomplished woodworker, was immediately interested. The crosses were for a local ministry, “The Master’s Mission” of Ware Shoals, and would be sent in shoeboxes – called “JOY (Jesus, others, and you) boxes” – along with caps, gloves, scarves, candy and school supplies, to Ukraine. The idea originated with one of the volunteers, Paula Hine of Ninety Six, who had observed a young girl looking for a cross in her JOY box.
Boyce had traveled to Ukraine in January with a group of more than 40 people – mostly from the Upstate – to deliver JOY boxes to orphanages and schools. The trip is an annual event sponsored by The Master’s Mission, and the crosses would be used in this year’s boxes.
“We asked how many crosses were needed,” recalled Marilynn. “We were not ready for the answer: 10,000!”
At first, this seemed like an impossible task, but Marvin agreed to use his scroll saw to create as many as possible.
Harrison Forest Products of Greenville donated the wood, and with the help of several church friends, they began to draw crosses on sheets of lumber and cut them out. By early August, the goal was reached.
“My family and friends have been blessed to be a part of this ministry,” said Marilynn. “We were helped greatly in this project by our son Mark, our grandchildren Mitchell and Alyssa English, and friends Linda Staton, Linda Howle and Jim Alexander.”
Among Baptist churches participating were Cedarwood, Greenwood; Cedar Shoals, Belton; and Standing Springs, Simpsonville.
The couple recently visited the Master’s Mission warehouse in Ware Shoals and saw that the volunteers were well on their way to processing another 10,000 JOY boxes, donated by people from at least four states.
“It is good to know that each of these boxes will contain one of our crosses,” Marilynn noted. “We pray that the crosses will have an eternal impact on the children who see them.”