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 From his youth, Marvin started as a prolific writer, keeping journals of his experiences as a young man growing up in a large family in Portland, Oregon. At age 17 he began writing some of the most popular choruses known to Christendom. In those early years God was preparing Marvin for a greater calling than he had ever imagined- the call to New York City at age twenty-one, to start a children's and youth ministry on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
In 1955, God in His divine plan, united Marvin and Helen's hearts and lives as a dedicated team to serve Christ in New York City..
Marvin and Helen served together for 35 years. After Marvin's homegoing in 1992, the Board of Trustees voted to continue the ministry for nine more years. In 2001, The Children's Fund of New York ministry was turned over to a strong evangelical church on the Lower East Side of New York, Abounding Grace Ministries. As Helen was preparing to sell her home, she discovered boxes of journals and diaries from Marvin's hand. The dream of Marvin's life, the BOOK, would be published.
The title for the BOOK came after some months of meditation and prayer. The words of an old hymn Helen's grandfather taught her when very young, "When He Cometh," resonated.
"When he cometh, when He cometh,
To make up His jewels, All His jewels,
precious jewels, His loved and His own."
The word 'jewels' seemed to take on special significance as Helen thought of the children and youth on New York City's Lower East Side.
Yes, they are truly "God's Shining Jewels."
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