by Rena Canady-Laster,
Author, Actor, and Life Coach
Who would have guessed that my portraying Mollie in Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot would allow me to embody her life and passion for her church-Bennet Chapel Baptist Church and its mission in the movie. Although deceased in real life, her legacy lives on in Possum Trot, Texas. First Lady Martin described Mollie to me as being someone who loved her church and was always there doing whatever she could for the church, her pastor, and the community. As President of the Pastor’s Aid Ministry at Bennett Chapel, she always made sure that the church was beautifully decorated for all events, food was on point, and she could be counted on to support the vision and mission of the church. Whenever there was an event at the church, she had a standard for how it would be executed. Portrayed in the movie as a quiet spirit who was a bedrock of support , Mollie’s voice mattered. She and her husband were one of the 22 families who adopted children and formed a circle of support for each other for the 77 adopted children within the church. The movie portrayed this support, opened the eyes of audiences across the nation to the plight of vulnerable children in the foster care/ adoption system, and ignited a movement across the U.S. and Canada to meet the needs of these vulnerable children. Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot Lead Actor Demetrius Gross and Lead Actress Nika King recently won Best American Actor and Actress at the Septimius Awards in Amsterdam. The mandate of the award is to “present the most outstanding films produced in every part of the world. Films and projects are selected on the basis of quality and originality”. This year’s awards showcased films from Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe and America. Possum Trot was directed by Joshua Weigel, and co-written by Rebekah Weigel. Actress Letitia Wright of Black Panther served as Executive Producer. The film was produced by Peacetree Productions and distributed by Angel Studios. Audiences left the movie with a renewed zeal to serve the widows and orphans as Biblical Scripture commands. A movement of over one million strong has been formed to meet the needs of families and children in foster care. I wrote the following poem to acknowledge the town of Possum Trot and Pastor and First Lady Martin for igniting and inspiring the international movement.
Possum Trot
Possum Trot
Show us what you got…
We got the plot
Where stands
Bennet Chapel Baptist Church
And a congregation
That demonstrated God’s love
for the nation
To see and be
The hands of God;
The feet of God;
The mouth of God;
Where talk isn’t cheap
When you seek
To be doers , not just hearers
of God’s Word;
Adopting children that
Others said were hard to place
So that they could take
their place
In God’s plan for their lives;
Thriving, not just surviving;
Bringing joy into lives that didn’t
Know that they had a joy deficit
Until the children’s giggles
and hugs revealed it.
We’ve got a movie that
Shows the nation
How to put your money
Where your mouth is;
How to step beyond fears
and naysayers,
Beyond self imposed boundaries,
to places of freedom
Not just for us but for
generations to come.
We’ve started a movement
That shows what love can do.
Now it’s up to you.
Show us what you got…
(C)renacanadylaster )
It is now up to us to demonstrate that same love that shows the world that we are the hands and feet of Jesus. Reach out to your local Department of Family and Children Services, local adoption agencies, and CarePortal to offer support to and meet the needs of vulnerable families and children in the community. Contact me at allthingscanady@gmail.com for further information and ways to help meet the needs. Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot is now streaming on Angel.com.
