Helping Hand (W5:D5)

Without Paul Youngblood on the FIREPROOF set, there would be mass confusion.

Well, maybe not, but serving as a volunteer, Paul operates the slate board, a role he’s reprising from his movie crew debut with FACING THE GIANTS. The slate is used to mark scenes and takes prior to their filming.

“Doing this has made me look at movies differently,” says Paul, who is 77 years old. “It amazes me how it all comes together.”

Coming together with the other Sherwood volunteers is as much fun for Paul as the actual moviemaking.

“What I enjoy most is how everybody helps each other. Whatever your job is, you jump in and do whatever needs to be done,” he says. “I’ve met a lot more people from my church on the set. There are people from their teens to their seventies and everybody is accepted.”

After retiring from his civilian role as an equipment specialist with the Marine Corps, Paul has stayed active serving others. He works with a team of men that build wheelchair ramps.

“I love helping people,” he says.

Paul is especially excited to be helping on a movie that focuses on marriage. He has been married to Marcilla for 54 years and they have three grown children.

“She’s the best thing that’s happened in my life,” he says. “We both feel like the Lord’s given us to each other.”

That’s the heart of marriage. And the heart of FIREPROOF.