Just about the time that Xan started getting used to us, and our bank account started to recover, we felt the Lord was calling us to adopt again.  Julie wanted a little girl, so we began the process to adopt domestically.  We carefully put together a profile and waited.  Two birth mothers chose us, but we lost both due to the birthmothers changing their minds.  We rejoiced in that, but it was also very painful.  Then one night we got the phone call that would change everything.  “We have a 3 week old little boy.  Do you want him?”  Well of course!  How could we say no!  So, we drove all night to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The next morning, our little Brennan was placed in our arms.  He was so tiny.  We took him home, and the crying began. He cried…and cried….and cried.  We later found out that his birth mother likely used drugs pretty heavily while pregnant with him.  His first few months were painful ones for him and for us.  We spent evenings stretching out his muscles that had been made tight because of all the pain he was in.
Over the years, he has had therapy on top of therapy to try to get him caught up.  The drug abuse has left him slightly delayed and on the autism spectrum, but he has progressed so much.  Brennan is the happiest, most content child I’ve ever known…and such a blessing to us.
In Uganda, a child like Brennan would have been left alone to grow in silence and obscurity.  People just don’t know or don’t have time or money to get children like Brennan the care that they need.  We want to bring that kind of hope into families that are confused and scared.  So much can be done, if we have people standing with us.
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Will you give so that kids like Brennan will have a full and long life?

In a neighborhood on Spartanburg’s westside, Bucky Rogers and his wife, Julie, take a needed break on the couch. A small film crew is documenting their home life and their mission to build Benjamin House Ministries, an organization with the goal of helping orphans and rebuilding families in Uganda.

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity, and from an outsider’s perspective, their lives would seem to be more exhausting than many others. Bucky and Julie Rogers have four adopted children — Sasha, Xan, Brennan and Becca, who has special needs.

A Tennessee native, Rogers has worked as pastor of students and worship arts at Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church — The Mill, for short — in Moore since 2006. After several mission trips, he and his wife felt called to pursue a life helping children abroad. A 2013 trip to Uganda solidified in their hearts that God wanted them in the African country.

Named in honor of the stillborn son of friends, Benjamin House celebrated its global launch in June at an event featuring presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. The event made headlines nationwide and ignited a fundraising campaign.

Brightly colored T-shirts bearing the Benjamin House name are donned regularly by followers across Spartanburg County, and a social media campaign has seen supporters post photos wearing the shirts in 40 states and 13 countries, so far.

For his part, Rogers has become a reluctant front man for the movement. A pastor, with more than 14 years of experience and a passion for music, he appears more comfortable in the presence of young people, helping guide them through life’s troubles, than in soliciting money for the mission.

“I’m kind of used to meeting people’s needs,” Rogers said. “I thrive on that. So, asking people to partner with us financially to help us accomplish this task is something that doesn’t come easily. But, for these kids and these families, I’ll do whatever it takes. And, I’m seeing more and more that people are just waiting for an opportunity to be a part of something like this.”

In July, Rogers and members of the Benjamin House team spent a few days touring orphanages and discussing potential partnerships with existing Ugandan organizations. At one possible future home, surrounded by students, Rogers said the dream of Benjamin House — up until then only envisioned on blueprints and in his head — was becoming real.

A documentary chronicling the last several months and the effort to build Benjamin House will be unveiled at an event at the Upward Star Center on Thursday. Rogers plans to return to Uganda in October to finalize more plans and, in March, he will move his family there to begin building Benjamin House. His vision is that the organization will be more than a group home for orphans, that it can repair families and be a conduit for education and change.