By Francesca Pollio Fenton
A new film called “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” tells the inspiring true story of a small town in East Texas that came together to adopt 77 of the hardest-to-place children into the local foster care system. .
The film depicts the lives of the Rev. Wilbert Martin and his wife, Donna Martin, their two children and those who attend the city’s small Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.
After her mother’s death, Donna feels that God is calling her to adopt an adopted child, which brings something new to her life and also affects her husband. Rev. Martin is motivated to share his testimony and inspires 22 families in his church to stay together and follow in his footsteps.
“Sound of Hope” will be in theaters nationwide on July 4.
Rebekah Weigel, producer of the film, spoke with NAC about her personal experience with adoption and what she hopes the film will motivate others in terms of child protection.
In 2013, Weigel and her husband, who have five children, two of whom were adopted, began the adoption process. They had originally planned to foster and adopt in Los Angeles County, but after receiving a call from Colorado asking if they would adopt two A young people who had just entered the foster formula there, the couple said “yes” and the young people were transferred. Although it didn’t seem like the most productive time, the couple “felt like God was calling us to do this. “she shared.
“It’s definitely one of the hardest things we’ve ever done, but it’s also the most rewarding thing we’ve done as a family,” Weigel said.
Weigel’s husband, Joshua Weigel, is the film’s director, screenwriter, and producer. The couple’s personal experience with adoption encouraged them to get involved in the film, which Weigel calls “a chore of the heart” and a “problem that is very expensive for our family and has improved our lives. “
Currently, there are 400,000 young people in foster care in the United States and 100,000 young people awaiting adoption, Weigel stressed, urging Christians to act.
“We’ve been going through a food crisis in the United States lately,” he said. “And honestly, it shouldn’t be like that. We have 400,000 churches in the United States. We have all the resources, we have staff, we have social workers. There are so many churches on each and every corner that we could gently buck the trend if the church would step forward and answer this call.
She quoted James 1:27, which says, “Pure and undefiled faith before God the Father is to care for orphans and widows in their need. If more people take this verse seriously, Weigel said, “we’re sure that all of us will be able to replace this and we can see a motion that will end and the foster care formula in America and beyond. “
“This is all that is evidently in God’s heart, and he cares deeply for orphans and widows, and he called the Church to take the utmost care and to have their hands and feet on the ground. “
The film will be released exactly one year after the release of the summer hit “Sound of Freedom. “Weigel explained that Angel Studios, the film’s distributor, thought “Sound of Hope” would be “the best sequel. “
“‘Sound of Freedom’ shows that there is a challenge and ‘Sound of Hope’ shows that there is a solution,” he said. “And there is a solution. The solution is us. We want other smart people to step in to fight, fight and defend those vulnerable children.
Weigel said he hopes audiences will see “God move their hearts through this movie and that they will faint and start caring about young people like we’re supposed to. “
He explained that at the end of the film, the real Reverfinish Martin and Donna Martin will invite the audience to sign up for the children’s fight and mentor them to make an impact on where other people can participate in fulfilling the wishes of the vulnerable. youth and families through a platform called Care Portal.
“This is something that is close to God’s heart: He commanded his other brothers to take care of the vulnerable,” Weigel said. “Churches have so many resources and so much potential. On every corner, we have a church in America that can care for youth and families through the Array offering. So we need to look at the religion that we’ve all expressed in a practical way. form.