Amid America’s foster care and adoption crisis, a heartwarming new movie tells the powerful story of how one pastor and his wife inspired their church and town to help the “least of these” in the most profound and impactful of ways.
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“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” which hit theaters July 4, came from the mind and heart of writer and producer Rebekah Weigel and her husband, Joshua, who directed the feature.
Rebekah Weigel told CBN News the film’s roots were set in 2013. That’s when the couple adopted two children and soon learned about incredible events that unfolded in Possum Trot, Texas — how a church there adopted 77 children in the deepest of need.
“This issue started to break our hearts, and I started working with different churches to get more people involved in the foster crisis in Los Angeles,” she said. “And I came across this story, and it just really impacted me deeply, because we were in the trenches with our own kids, and to just hear about a whole church stepping in and doing it together was just really inspiring.”
As time went on, Weigel and Joshua felt compelled to tell that story through film, a process that took eight years before this month’s theatrical release.
She believes “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” has the power to transform hearts and minds regarding foster care and adoption.
“Twenty-two families from a little church stepped into the foster crisis, adopted 77 children,” Weigel said. “They were the most difficult-to-place children in the Texas child welfare system.”
The film focuses on a number of stories, but the central characters are Bishop W.C. Martin and his wife, Donna Martin (portrayed by actors Demetrius Grosse and Nika King), who spearheaded the adoptions and helped inspire their church along the way.
Of course, that process was anything but easy, with the kids’ trauma, difficulties — and the adoptive families’ struggles — on full display in the film.
“The goal was really to connect people’s hearts to these kids, because all of us … when we see vulnerable children in trouble, it makes us want to move, get involved, help them,” Weigel said. “And that really was our goal … to move people to action.”
Far from a problem exclusive to Possum Trot, Weigel explained the foster care issue is a “crisis across the country.” There are so many kids in need that some youths are placed in hotels or hospital wards as they await foster care placement or adoption.
“There’s 400,000 kids in the foster system right now,” she said. “There’s 100,000 that are eligible to be adopted right now that need a permanent, stable, loving home.”
Weigel hopes “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” will help motivate the church to do more to meet these kids’ needs.
“We have 400,000 churches in America and 100,000 kids just languishing in the system waiting to be adopted,” she said. “So, if one church focused on one child, we could wipe out this entire crisis. And we would have more than enough homes, more than enough help and resources.”
Watch the above video for more on “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” and how Weigel is looking to inspire Christians across the nation.
We’ll leave you with a powerful interview with King, who shares her own real-life journey and motivation for starring in the film:
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