Families in a rural Texas town adopted 77 children. This couple led the way.
When Donna Martin’s mother died, the floor of the Baptist church caved in. It was an apt metaphor for her grief. She fell into a depression. To hear her tell it, God answered her prayer by impelling her to open her heart by adopting a young brother and sister. It wasn’t easy. She and her husband, Bishop W.C. Martin, were church leaders and weren’t well-off. They already had two children. One of the adopted children tried running away. Later, they adopted two more.
But their sense of love and compassion inspired others in the rural East Texas church to open their homes. In all, 23 families in Possum Trot, Texas, including the Martins, adopted 77 of the most difficult-to-place children in the regional foster system.
A new movie, “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” opening on July 4, tells the
