True story behind Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

After her mother passed away, Donna Martin, the wife of a pastor in a small town, struggled with depression. During that period, she received a message from the Lord telling her to adopt. Following the words of James 1:27, which reads, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans . . . in their affliction," she and her husband Bishop W.C. Martin, who were already blessed with two biological children, looked into the numbers of children in foster care who were troubled and/or abused. The Martins adopted four children over the course of five years, including two that had special needs.

The 200 members of their rural church of Bennett Chapel in Possum Trot, Texas, were inspired, leading 22 families to take in 77 of the hardest to place children in the Texas child welfare system.

"We felt called to give to those totally neglected, told they would never amount to anything," Donna said. "And those are the kids we have taken in."

Bishop W.C. Martin wrote a book about what happened, titled Small Town, Big Miracle – How Love Came to the Least of Them, which was published in October 2007.

Angel Studios, which has produced hit inspirational films including Sound of Freedom and Cabrini, made the Martins' story into a movie, titled Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot. Written and produced by Joshua Weigel and Rebekah Weigel and directed by Joshua Weigel, Rebekah explained, “We did have to take some artistic liberty with some of it, such as making some composite characters out of multiple people. But it's accurate to what happened."

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot opens in theaters July 4, 2024. Click here to find showtimes. ~Alexandra Heilbron