Rhonda Horton and Rachel Haas grew up listening to their mother tell them about their great-grandmother, Rebecca Barker Trent, who grew up at Buckner Orphans Home. For Rhonda and Rachel, the ministry of R.C. Buckner that started with Buckner at the Orphans Home carried through their entire family, creating a beautiful family legacy.

Rebecca and her siblings were sent to the Buckner Orphans Home in Dallas in the late 1800s after their parents were killed during a robbery. At the Orphans Home, she not only found a home, but it was also the place where her received help, strength, perseverance and faith.

“Here she experienced the love of Christ,” Rachel said. “Despite the loss of her own parents, God provided her with love and care through Buckner, which helped mold her to the woman she would become. This is a beautiful example of how all things work together for good for those who love God and are called to his purpose.”

At the Orphans Home, Rebecca was trained as a telephone operator. Eventually, she married Henry Trent. They moved to Houston where Henry operated a grocery store, and Rebecca cooked at a café in the same building.

During the Great Depression, Henry died, leaving Rebecca to raise four young children on her own. Unable to keep the store operating, Rebecca worked any job she could find in order to have enough money to feed her children. Rebecca wasn’t afraid of hard work.

The staff at Immanuel Baptist Church in Houston, where Rebecca and her children attended, knew how diligently Rebecca worked, and when a position opened up to run the nursery, they asked Rebecca if she could fill it. For over 40 years, Rebecca rocked babies to sleep.

Though raising children as a single mother during the Great Depression was difficult, Rebecca always trusted the Lord to provide, and she taught her children to rely on God too. Rebecca’s strong example of faith resonated with her son Kenneth, and he also chose to follow Christ no matter the cost.

Click here to read about Kenneth’s story.