[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 146 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5507-H5508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING BISHOP W.C. MARTIN AND HIS WIFE, FIRST LADY DONNA MARTIN

  (Mr. MORAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Bishop W.C. Martin, 
pastor of Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Possum Trot, 
Texas, and his wife, First Lady Donna Martin.
  Nearly three decades ago, Bishop Martin and his wife, Donna, who 
already had two biological children, adopted another four, starting a 
movement of 22 families within the Possum Trot community to adopt or 
foster children without a home.
  Mrs. Martin was inspired to adopt after the death of her beloved 
mother, Murtha, who had raised 18 children. She stated: And the Holy 
Spirit said, think about those other children out there that do not 
have what you had with your mother. I was overcome with such warmness, 
I walked back into the house, picked up the Yellow Pages, and called an 
adoption agency.

[[Page H5508]]

  That is how it began. It concluded with 77 children finding loving 
homes in a community that simply decided that they would do what they 
could and give all that they had for the benefit of the most vulnerable 
and needy among them.
  This story has been retold in the recent film, ``Sound of Hope: The 
Story of Possum Trot,'' which is a story of inspiration for all of us 
to give more, to love more, and to do more for those around us.
  I thank Reverend and First Lady Martin for living out their faith and 
for changing the destinies of so many young lives. They are remarkable.

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