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--:-- John Bickley: Inspired by a powerful true story. The new film Sound of Hope, the story of Possum Trot follows Donna and Reverend Martin, who along with 22 families from their church in a small Texas town adopt 77 of the most difficult to place kids in the foster system. The Daily Wire has partnered with Angel Studios to bring the film to theaters on July 4th. And ahead of that, Donna and Reverend Martin joined me in our Nashville studio to discuss their real-life experience with taking in and raising these children.
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--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, July 3rd, and this is a special edition of Morning Wire.
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--:-- John Bickley: Before we get started here, a behind-the-scenes disclosure. We did not start off intending to release the following interview in full. I was just supposed to sit down with the Martins and get a few quotes for a larger episode. But what took place moved us all so much that we just felt that we needed to release the full exchange as a standalone special episode. With that said, we hope you get as much out of this as we did.
--:-- John Bickley: Joining me in studio is the remarkable couple behind Sound of Hope, the story of Possum Trot, Donna and Reverend Martin. And first, thank you so much for being here with me now to discuss the film and you and your community's experiences with fostering children.
--:-- Reverend Martin: We're glad to be here. We're definitely glad to be here.
--:-- John Bickley: Absolutely. I want to hear from your perspective, the personal experience of going through this process. Not a lot of people have had this kind of thing happen, which is you start a movement and then you also see this made into a film and probably never thought this would go this direction. So what were the initial seeds of this, this push to take action and foster these at-risk children? Where did that come from? What drove that initially? Why did this become a priority for you?
--:-- Reverend Martin: I don't know if it became a priority other than we were just, because of the vision that the Lord showed my wife through the death of her mother, we just started doing something that he spoke the word and we obeyed the word and I don't know if there was so much of a something that we was looking for any big thing to come out of we were just doing what we thought people do we didn't even know all this was going on in this area at all but then once we got involved and we found out that it was a it was a worldwide problem, the worldwide situation, because we in Possum Trot, who can imagine in Possum Trot here we are embarked upon a worldwide who would have thought of that I mean I don I mean I don I can speak for nobody but I never would have dreamed that we would be in this position today
--:-- John Bickley: But what we did, I guess out of obedience to God's will, He opened up doors and God is faithful to do what He says. And that's the thing that I keep looking at. I keep focusing on my eyes on God and knowing that if you do His will, if you trust him and believe in him, he's going to do the rest.
--:-- Reverend Martin: Are there some particular scriptures that came back to you or really helped center you during this whole process? You felt like this is the heartbeat of what we're trying to do.
--:-- Reverend Martin: Two of my favorite passage of scriptures in the Bible is Romans 8 and 28. And we know that all things work together for the good, working according to his purpose for those who love the Lord. And then I love this one. Yea, do I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will feel no evil for the Lord is with me.
--:-- John Bickley: One of the standout elements of this film is that it does not shy away from how hard this is, the kinds of struggles that are going to come if you make this kind of commitment and steer your life in this direction. You open your arms to people that are initially strangers. That's no small matter. How has it been for you in the community? Has this been a hard process? Do you feel like you went in with eyes wide open or have you been surprised?
--:-- Reverend Martin: It's bringing in blind, not knowing the ins and outs and the pros and the cons, because the children themselves, they have a new demeanor on life. And I often say this. Why does a child know what love is all about when no one never taught them love? How do a child understand the beauty of a mother and a father? That nobody never spent the time to teach them. How do they know how to love God with no one?
--:-- Donna Martin: I'm amazed. It just goes back to the scripture It says Now unto him who able to do exceedingly abundant above all that you can ask or think according to the power that works on the inside of us. I'm amazed with these kids. I'm amazed with their struggle have turned into triumph.
--:-- Reverend Martin: I thank God for my wife. I thank God for being at Chapel Church and the community as a whole. Because in the midst of all those struggles, in the midst of all them setbacks and all the crying and all the chills and all the heartaches, all I can say, but God. But God was right there. And he helped us through the whole process.
--:-- Donna Martin: And have you seen a transformation with these children?
--:-- Donna Martin: I'm amazed. I'm amazed with these kids. I'm amazed with their struggle have turned into triumph. I am just grateful for the opportunity that the Lord allowed us, that they came past our life. And I'm amazed with the pain that I suffered through the loss of my mother at the age of 35, 36 years old.
--:-- Reverend Martin: I don't know if it became a priority other than we were just, because of the vision that the Lord showed my wife through the death of her mother, we just started doing something that he spoke the word and we obeyed the word and I don't know if there was so much of a something that we was looking for any big thing to come out of we were just doing what we thought people do we didn't even know all this was going on in this area at all but then once we got involved and we found out that it was a it was a worldwide problem, the worldwide situation, because we in Possum Trot, who can imagine in Possum Trot here we are embarked upon a worldwide who would have thought of that I mean I don I mean I don I can speak for nobody but I never would have dreamed that we would be in this position today
--:-- Donna Martin: I'm saying to the Lord three or four months after she passed transition, rather, that no child should lose a mother. through my pain i was just crying out to the lord saying god no child should lose a mom and when he spoke to me say i've heard you but she's with me think about all i was thinking about those months was myself all i was thinking about when i was alone that i couldn't go any further i just so i looked up to the lord one day and i said okay god today is the day either you heal me or let me die. Literally, I thought I was going to die. I thought my husband would come home and find me in the kitchen floor.
--:-- Reverend Martin: But God moved upon my heart and I stepped out the back door. And he said, I've heard you. Think about those children that's out there that did not and will not have what you had in a mother. Foster and adopt, give back. And he didn't say get just kids that their parents, you know, left them and they got some away in the system. But get those hard to place kids that wouldn't fit into a home. And we wanted those children. Our community wanted those kids because we understand struggle. Possum tried to understand struggle. We understand not having the luxury of life, but the most important thing is the love of Christ and loving one another, accepting one another.
--:-- Donna Martin: We understand that. So I'm amazed. I look at them now, and no matter what, you know, challenge that they're yet dealing with, because they're always going to be. How can you get healed from that that rejected you? That never leaves you. But when you take Jesus Christ, you give them hope, sound of hope. So he's preparing a people. He's preparing a nation to take these kids. Because as my husband say, they didn't know what to give. They could only give out what was given to them.
--:-- Reverend Martin: Some of them have grown and got children, and they're still hurting. But we knew and we've done what the Lord asks of us to do. And it was hell in our water, if you will. it was things that no we didn't we didn't know because i came up in a time i'm a 61 baby and i came up in the time when if mama said that you did it whether you like it or not you didn't question it if mother said you show some love mother say you you give that shirt you turn the other cheek you did it you know so i'm just amazed and i believe that really that's not about us It's not about Bishop W.C. and Donna. It not about Benny Chample It about that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that son gave his life that he may have other sons and daughters So we gave our life. We gave up our agenda through our hurt, our pain, and our brokenness. And we suffered and tawed through.
--:-- Donna Martin: And I'm sitting on this side right now and saying, God, nobody but you. Could nobody do this but you? I am excited that this message is being known. Anyone that see it and hear it, they hear the sound, they hear the cry. cry. They know, we know, even us, those that haven't even thought about adoption. If you don't hear this sound of those children that's out there that haven't had a chance in life and what you give your very own, then it's going to contaminate the good. That's why God said, forget about yourself. Let's reach out of ourselves.
--:-- Reverend Martin: And I'm so grateful. If I ever been grateful for anything in my life, this is it. I am grateful that the Lord allowed a people to go through the struggle and the pain and give a voice to this nasty enemy that comes to rob, steal, and kill.
--:-- Donna Martin: John 10 and 10, that Jesus said, I came. I prayed for you. I'm amazed. I'm amazed.
--:-- Reverend Martin: And you know, one of the things that I want to share also, adoption is nothing new. I mean, God himself allowed and showed us, even in the Old Testament, that adoption, the only way we was able to get back to God was through adoption. Anybody that's believing in God, whether they like it or not, they've been adopted. It's kind of like God called a people to utilize and to demonstrate what I've done for you. You can do it for another. The doors that I opened up for you, because I brought you out of the muck and mowry. I brought you out of pain and hurt and sorrow. You can do it for another.
--:-- John Bickley: That was amazing. Thank you guys so much for sharing this. thank you god bless you guys you're doing amazing stuff i hope millions of people watch this movie and it's already impacted all of our team we believe it thank you so much.
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--:-- John Bickley: That was Donna and Reverend Martin speaking about their real-life experiences that inspired the new film Sound of Hope and this has been a special edition of Morning Wire.
