by Jeanni Ritchie
Angel Studios released Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot on July 3. It shone a light on foster care in America and the tiny East Texas town of Possum Trot.
An opening scene showed Mercedes and Tyler watching terrified as their father shot their mother to death before they entered the foster care system. This wasn’t dreamed up in a Hollywood writer’s room. It happened just over the Toledo Bend Reservoir while I was cluelessly playing Chutes and Ladders with my own children in the 90’s.
Last month, I played with Mercedes’ own daughter Maddie in the home her mother grew up in, the home of Rev. W.C. and Donna Martin. Maddie simply knows them as her grandparents.
The rest of the country, though, knows them as national heroes.
Donna Martin led a crusade through her church, Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist, to adopt 77 of the state’s hardest-to-place foster children in need of forever homes.
The Martins had two biological children, Princeton and LaDonna, when they took in Mercedes and Tyler. Princeton was special needs, having been deprived of oxygen at birth, and Mercedes and Tyler had endured horrific trauma but the Martins were not deterred.
Terri, whose trauma and ensuing mental health struggles had her resorting to pretending she was a cat, came next. The Martins handled Terri with the love and wisdom that only comes from Above.
Terri’s youngest daughter, Kinsley, sat on my lap for hours singing and playing like a little princess. She helped me snap selfie photos, a two-year-old photog in training!
Watching the movie, you’d never imagine Terri would end up with a beautiful family of her own.
That’s the power of God.
With son Joshua as well, the Martins had six kids and they had a slew of cousins. Many of the other foster children had been adopted by Donna’s own siblings, 18 in all, and most lived within walking distance of each other in Possum Trot.
Princeton, the family favorite, immediately greeted me as he walked in Bennett Chapel the morning I visited. It was the Sunday before the movie’s release and I’d just seen the advance screening.
I’d driven the El Camino trail from Natchitoches into Texas, and then followed my GPS to Shelby County.
I was welcomed with open arms by the congregation, many of whom were family I later discovered, and treated like family by Donna Martin and her sisters when invited over for Sunday Dinner.
The love there was real. The story was true. The power of God was palpable.
Best of all, Princeton twirled me around the living room like it was a sensational dance floor three times that day!
Visit Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church or send cards of love and support to 674 CR 2582, Shelbyville, TX 75973.
Check them out online at https://www.facebook.com/
Check out Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, still in theaters at press time and predicted to be streaming in late fall. It’s a great movie for your church group or family gathering. The film is a true message of hope.
Their real-life counterparts are a true representation of Christ.
Jeanni Ritchie is a contributing journalist from Central Louisiana. She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.
