Morning Wire XX
[0] 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.
[1] 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 join me in our Nashville studio to discuss their real -life experience.
[2] with taking in and raising these children.
[3] I'm Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Wednesday, July 3rd, and this is a special edition of Morning Wire.
[5] Hey, guys, producer Brandon here.
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[11] Before we get started here, a behind the scenes disclosure, we did not start off intending to release the following interview in full.
[12] I was just supposed to sit down with the Martins and get a few quotes for a larger episode.
[13] 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.
[14] With that said, you get as much out of this as we did.
[15] Joining me in studio is the remarkable couple behind Sound of Hope, the story of Possum Trot, Donna, and Reverend Martin.
[16] 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.
[17] We're glad to be here.
[18] We're definitely glad to be here.
[19] Absolutely.
[20] I want to hear from your perspective, the personal experience of going through this process.
[21] 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.
[22] So what were the initial seeds of this, this push to take action and foster these at -risk children?
[23] Where did that come from?
[24] What drove that initially?
[25] Why did this become a priority for you?
[26] I don't know if it became a priority other than we would just.
[27] 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.
[28] And I don't know if there was so much of something that we was looking for any big thing to come out of.
[29] We were just doing what we thought people do.
[30] We didn't even know all this was going on in this area at all.
[31] but then once we got involved and we found out that it was a it was a worldwide problem in a worldwide situation because we in possum trot who can imagine in possum trap here we are embarked upon a worldwide who would have thought of that I mean I didn't I mean I can't speak for nobody but I never would have dreamed that we'll be in this position today 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.
[32] And that's the thing that I keep looking at.
[33] 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.
[34] Are there some particular scriptures that came back to you, or it really helped center you during this whole process.
[35] She felt like this is the heartbeat of what we're trying to do.
[36] Two of my favorite pastor of scriptures in the Bible is Roman 8 and 28.
[37] And we know that all things work together for the good, working according to his purpose for those who love the Lord.
[38] And then I love this one.
[39] Yea, do I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
[40] I will feel no evil.
[41] For the Lord is with me. If you are in this battle of problems and situations and setbacks and heartaches and pain it's working for our good because God has a greater purpose.
[42] This was something that I feel that God and it was prophesied in our church that we was in a little small village.
[43] One night, one Friday night, this woman came in and prophesied to everything that went on and it had to happen.
[44] And it had to happen just like that.
[45] We had members in that say, yeah, right back in these woods, you tell me your TV is going come back in these woods, ain't no way.
[46] But now they see something tangible that they know that if it hadn't not been for the Lord, we wouldn't be right here.
[47] Now, my wife may have a different script is on her mind that she loved, but these are my two.
[48] And now I keep those in my spirit at all time because I know in this world you're going to go do some stuff, whether it's one day it's going to be one thing or not, but you're going to have some problem.
[49] I want to ask you about that in particular.
[50] 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.
[51] You open your arms to people that are initially strangers.
[52] That's no small matter.
[53] How has it been for you in the community?
[54] Has this been a hard process, do you feel like you went in with eyes wide open?
[55] Or have you been surprised by it?
[56] Winning blind, not knowing the ends and nod and the pros and the cause, because the children themselves, they have a new demeanor on life.
[57] And I often say this, why does a child know what love is all about when no one never taught them love?
[58] How do a child understand this?
[59] beauty of a mother and a father that nobody never spent the time to teach them.
[60] How do they know how to love God with no wife?
[61] So these are struggles.
[62] They have all kind of baggage, lines stealing, just whatever you can name.
[63] They come in with that mindset.
[64] I thank God for my wife.
[65] I thank God for Benin Chapel Church and the community as a whole.
[66] Because in the midst of all those struggles, in the midst of all them setbacks and all the crying and all the tears and all the heartaches, all I can say, but God.
[67] But God was right there.
[68] And he helped us through the whole process.
[69] And have you seen a transformation with these children?
[70] First lady, you want to answer that?
[71] I'm amazed.
[72] It just goes back to the scripture that says.
[73] now unto him who's able to do exceedingly abundant, above all that you can accident, according to the power that works on the inside of us, I'm amazed with these kids.
[74] I'm amazed with their struggle, have turned into triumph.
[75] I am just grateful for the opportunity that the Lord allowed us, that they came past our life.
[76] and I'm amazed with the pain that I suffered through the loss of my mother at the age of 35, 36 years old.
[77] I'm saying to the Lord, three or four months after she passed transition, rather, that no child should lose a mother.
[78] Through my pain, I was just crying out to the Lord saying God, no child should lose a mom.
[79] And when he spoke to me, say, I've heard you.
[80] but she's with me. Think about, all I was thinking about those months was myself.
[81] All I was thinking about when I was alone that I couldn't go any further.
[82] I just, so I looked up to the Lord one day and I said, okay, God, today's today.
[83] Either you heal me or let me die.
[84] Literally, I thought I was going to die.
[85] I thought my husband would come home and find me in the kitchen floor.
[86] But God, move up on my heart and I stepped out the back door.
[87] and he said, I've hurt you.
[88] Think about those children that's out there.
[89] It did not and will not have what you had in a mother.
[90] Foster an adopt, give back.
[91] 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.
[92] and we wanted those children.
[93] Our community wanted those kids because we understand struggle.
[94] Possum tried to understand struggle.
[95] 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.
[96] We understand that.
[97] So I'm amazed.
[98] 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?
[99] That never leaves you.
[100] But when you take Jesus Christ, you give them hope, sound of hope.
[101] So he's preparing a people, he's preparing a nation to take these kids.
[102] because, as my husband say, they didn't know what to give.
[103] They could only give out what was given to them.
[104] Some of them were grown and got children, and they're still hurting.
[105] But we knew, and we've done what the Lord asks for us to do.
[106] And it was hell in our water, if you will.
[107] It was things that, no, 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 it, you did it.
[108] Whether you like it or not, you didn't question it.
[109] If Mother said, you show some love, Mother said you give that shirt, you turn the other cheek, you did it.
[110] You know, so I'm just amazed.
[111] And I believe that really that's not about us.
[112] It's not about Bishop W .C. and Donna.
[113] It's not about Bennett Chapel.
[114] It's about that God so loved the Word.
[115] girl, that he gave its only begotten son, that son gave his life, that he may have other sons and daughters.
[116] So we gave our life.
[117] We gave up our gender through our hurt, our pain, and our brokenness.
[118] And we suffered and tall through.
[119] And I'm sitting on this side right now and saying, God, nobody but you could nobody.
[120] do this but you.
[121] I am excited that this message is being known.
[122] Anyone that see it and hear it.
[123] They hear the sound.
[124] They hear the cry.
[125] They know.
[126] We know even us, those that haven't even thought about adoption.
[127] If you don't hear this sound of those children's that's out there that haven't had a chance in life and what you give your very on, then it's going to contaminate the good.
[128] That's why God say, forget about yourself.
[129] Let's reach out of ourselves.
[130] And I'm so grateful.
[131] If I ever been grateful for anything in my life, this is it.
[132] I am grateful that the Lord allowed a people to go through the struggle and the pain and give a vote.
[133] voice to this nasty enemy that comes to rob, steal, and kill, John 10 and 10, that Jesus said I came.
[134] I prayed for you.
[135] I'm amazed.
[136] I'm amazed.
[137] And you know, one of the things that I want to share also, adoption is nothing new.
[138] I mean, God himself allowed and showed us even in the Old Testament that adoption were how the only way we was able to get back to God were through adoption.
[139] Anybody that believing in God, whether they like it or not, they've been adopted.
[140] It's kind of like God call a people to utilize and to demonstrate what I've done for you, you can do it for another.
[141] The doors that I opened up for you, because I brought you.
[142] you out of the muck and mary, I brought you out of pain and hurt and sorrow, you can do it for another.
[143] And this is the thing that we are missing.
[144] The only thing we see is a whole lot of the bad, hard -headed children.
[145] You expect that.
[146] You look for that.
[147] Because why?
[148] If no one teach them and show them and love them through their hurting pain like God, he did the same thing.
[149] He loved us through our hurts, our pain, because we all be.
[150] and just messed up.
[151] But it had not been for the Lord on our side, we'll still be jacked up, messed up, and tore up from the floor.
[152] But God saw fit to give us another chance.
[153] Why can't we, as a people, give a child that never had a chance?
[154] Why can we give them a chance?
[155] I can barely speak.
[156] We have to wrap up.
[157] That was amazing.
[158] Thank you guys so much for sharing this.
[159] Thank you.
[160] God bless you guys.
[161] You're doing amazing stuff.
[162] I hope millions of people watch this movie.
[163] It's already impacted all of our teams.
[164] We believe it.
[165] Thank you so much.
[166] 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.