Staff Spotlight: Frank Rutta

2023 Staff Spotlight:  Frank Rutta

At Benjamin House Ministries we are blessed with a wonderful staff who are the lifeblood of our ministry. We want to spotlight Frank, and give you an insight into his story, and what his day to day life is like as a member of the Benjamin House staff.


Q & A:


What is your role with Benjamin House Ministries Uganda, and what does it look like day to day?


“Well, I am a social worker, but my work is very dynamic. I love sharing Christ and the hope He gives us. So in whatever I do, I am looking for an opportunity to reach out to the people in Katanga, especially the youth, to share the gospel of Christ. I believe this broken community needs Jesus. I strongly believe that when we are right with God half our problems and the community’s problems will be solved. I invest time and resources at my disposal to disciple the children in Katanga through games, soccer with the boys, one on one discipleship meetings, and group spiritual development meetings. I put the gospel at the center of everything I do. I know programming through games is not a permanent solution, but it allows me to share the gospel and disciple, which I believe hold the permanent solution to the problems we have in Katanga.  Another aspect of our job as social workers is to do family visits at the homes of our sponsored children and touch base with our beneficiaries. Family visits help us to know more about the families we are serving and also grant us the opportunity to encourage these families through God’s word and to work through the hardships at hand with the parents.  We also spend time in our office. The Benjamin House office in Katanga is a central meeting location for all the people we work with. We use it for counseling, evangelism, spiritual development meetings, documentation, and letter writing among other things.   I honestly don’t know how to put my work into just a few words, but that is what it looks like on a weekly basis. I desire to establish healthy relationships with the people in the slum in Katanga. I can only serve these people well if I have a healthy and working relationship with them.”


How did you come to work at Benjamin House?


“I started as a volunteer from September of 2018 through July of 2019. I previously worked at the Forex Bureau after spending eight months at the Word of Life Africa Bible Institute. I had always desired to evangelize and disciple youth, but I could not do that to the extent I felt called to because of my job at the Forex Bureau. At that time I had met Bucky Rogers (Founder of Benjamin House Ministries) and we remained in touch. One day he told me about an opportunity with the pastoral internship program at BHM. I was interested in it, so I enrolled.   As time passed there was a need for someone to support the social worker who was serving in Katanga at that time. Bucky approached me about this volunteer position. I was not doing well at this time financially, and I knew it was only a volunteer position, but I felt called to serve and reach more people, especially youth, for Christ in the slum. Nevertheless, I was very excited to take the position. So, I resigned from my full-time job in order to follow the calling I felt in my life from God.  When I joined the Katanga social work team I realized there was so much work to be done. I am forever thankful for the opportunity to serve the less fortunate people in Katanga. In July of 2019, I was brought on board as a full-time employee with BHM. From that time until now I have enjoyed serving God’s people here.”


What was your childhood like?


“I grew up in a broken family. I was raised by my mother and grandparents. My first encounter with my dad was when I was 12 years old. At this time I had also spent almost 4 years away from my mom who had left to take care of her sick sister.  We were not well off financially so I started hustling (working) when I was 7 years old. I started as a vendor on the streets that selected sugar canes, maize, and avocados, then later I started collecting trash from peoples homes, washing cars, clothes, mopping peoples houses and shops. The money I received from this work was used to contribute to meeting needs at home.   I remember one Saturday night in 2005 I was hawking sugar canes with my two cousins. A gentleman named Mr. Zephaniah pulled over in a car and asked us questions about our life and family. He helped us to join Compassion International, a worldwide child sponsorship program. I was sponsored by Compassion until I was 22. But my story changed when I surrendered my life to Christ in 2008. Since then I have desired to grow and serve God’s people. Trusting Christ game me the hope and peace I was longing for.”


Why do you choose to work for BHM?


“I believe in the vision and mission of Benjamin House Ministries. Family restoration and restoring hope are needed here. There are so many broken families and people who have no hope because they have not heard the gospel. Being part of a restored family’s story is something I desire.   I come from a background of hopelessness, absent parents, a stolen childhood robbed by early child labor, a broken family inside and out, and poverty. I want to be a part of a team fighting to end these vices and establish hope, the love of Christ, and financial growth in the impoverished people of Uganda. That is what we do as a team at BHM! I am grateful to be on staff here and work with people who are real heroes in the lives of so many.   Lastly, serving with BHM is very fulfilling. I feel like I am walking in God’s will for my life. I have learned over the years that the most fulfilling thing I can ever do is help or support another human in need, and share my story and the hope of the gospel of Christ with them.”


What do you like most about working for BHM?


“Working for Benjamin House has allowed me to fulfill my calling of evangelism and discipleship. I enjoy the fact that through the support of this ministry I am able to do those things.  Secondly, I have the freedom to dream and implement that which I have a desire to do in line with the vision and mission of BHM. This has allowed me to grow in my own walk and in every aspect of my life.  Thirdly, Benjamin House is a family. Being my mother’s only child, I now have brothers and sisters I never had. There is so much love here.  As far as what I enjoy most… I just love doing life with people, building relationships, listening to people who think they are forgotten, being a voice for the voiceless, being a guide to young people, having an opportunity to share my faith with so many people within my reach, and more than anything watching families and children go from being helpless to becoming self-sustaining and then watching them help others.”


What are the biggest struggles that come with your job?


“Watching so many people who are in need and being unable to support or help all of them. We can only support a handful of people, yet there are others who are hurting or in need. This pain rubs on me every day. Whenever I meet hurting people and am unable to help them, I feel like a failure.  Another struggle is seeing people who are ungrateful. Sometimes we can spend hours pouring into, counseling, and praying for the youth, but at the end of the day they do the very things we have been warning them about. 


What are some things you enjoy outside of work?


“I love watching people who are happy. I guess that is why I like leading games and doing icebreakers so much. I also enjoy playing football (soccer), riding motorbikes, and eating rice.