This January, we had the joy and privilege of traveling to Uganda for the second time. During this nearly three-week trip, we provided marriage coaching and training, visited two incredible orphanages we partner with, and delivered the generous gifts you helped us supply to some very excited children.
This trip was the latest “boots on the ground” effort of our nonprofit arm here at JAM Savage Ministries—The Life 2.0 Foundation.
In case you’re new to our story, our work in Africa all began with a chance encounter at a coffee shop in Montgomery, Alabama. There, we met a man whose heartfelt prayers for stronger marriages in Uganda aligned perfectly with our ministry. You can hear the whole story of how God connected the dots on Episode 135 of our podcast.
Fast forward to 2025, and the work we’re doing in Uganda through The Life 2.0 Foundation has two branches:
First, we use our marriage coaching expertise to 1) Lead conferences designed to help couples maintain healthier, happier relationships and 2) Train couples in Uganda to become local marriage coaches. The second pillar of our mission in Uganda involves providing ongoing support for three organizations whose work is inspiring and essential: Grateful Children’s Home, Butiki Children’s Ministry, and Promise International.
With your help, The Life 2.0 Foundation reached our fundraising goal of $70,000 for this trip, which allowed us to provide much-needed financial support and resources for the people we serve in Uganda—blessings that will have a positive impact on their lives for years to come. From the bottom of our hearts, and on behalf of every person our foundation serves—thank you.
You can explore our 2024 Impact Report to learn more about the lives we’ve touched through these efforts, what’s next for our foundation, and how you can help.
Here are 5 impactful milestones we want to share with you from our 2025 trip. During our three weeks in Uganda, we:
1. Trained 50 marriage coach couples.
When we took our first trip to Uganda, we had no idea that we would be training local couples. However, we were elated to discover that many people resonated deeply with what they were learning from us—and they wanted to share our guidance with others. We initially invested in these new coaches over zoom so that they could go on to invest in their communities, and on this second trip to Uganda, we trained even more couples in person to create lasting change.
These incredible local leaders are now equipped to play a role in healing marriages right where they live, using the same Marriage 2.0 tools and principles we offer to couples in the USA.
We are so proud of them, and we love the fact that they can continue to support couples in their communities year-round.
2. Led a marriage conference for over 1,200 people.
The $70,000 that our generous donors helped us raise for this trip completely covered the cost for our marriage conference in Jinja, Uganda—including food, space rental, tents, and more.
Many couples travel for days by foot in order to attend this event, so it is a huge blessing to be able to have those extra expenses covered.
In these marriage events, we taught couples how to give and receive love more intentionally, practice creative communication tools, identify the seven slow fades every marriage experiences, understand their God-tools, and much more.
3. Lectured at two events for Uganda Christian University.
This speaking opportunity was the perfect match for our style of marriage coaching—because our relationship insights are deeply driven by our faith.
At this university, we lectured to over 200 attendees, teaching about the pillars of healthy relationships and practical strategies that individuals and couples can use to communicate and connect.
We spoke at Uganda Christian University during our previous Uganda trip in 2023 as well so it was great to be back among friends.
4. Visited two orphanages and a ministry for special needs children we partner with (and delivered resources to!).
God tells us in Scripture that we are to “…look after orphans and widows in their distress…” (James 1:27 ESV). We are honored to be able to do just that—along with the help of our generous donors—through The Life 2.0 Foundation.
On this trip, we were able to provide support to the Butiki Children’s Orphanage, Promise International Ministry, and Grateful Children’s Home.
Here are just a few of the highlights of all that we were able to provide:
- Bunk beds and real mattresses so that children no longer have to sleep four kids on one thin pad on the ground. Each child was also given mosquito nets, sheets, and blankets for their new beds.
- In our suitcases, we brought school supplies, stuffed animals, balls, shoes, toothbrushes, clothing, and many other much-needed items.
- We helped cover the expenses of the new sleeping dormitory at Butiki Children’s Orphanage.
- We covered the expenses of a medical facility at the Promise International Ministry for special needs children.
5. Gave a special name to one special child.
When we visited Grateful Children’s Home, we were surprised with an honor that we never would have expected—the opportunity to give a name to a child. This home is a refuge for vulnerable, orphaned children who would otherwise have nowhere to turn. It’s led by Musaazi Enock, who was an orphan himself, but today serves as a father figure to so many.
We refer to Enoch as our Ugandan son. It was through Instagram that we saw his story and began to pray for him regularly. As we built a friendship with him, we realized what he needed most was help taking care of these children.
Just like our own kids, Enoch often comes to us for wisdom in parenting, advice, and prayer. On this trip, he blessed us with a memory we’ll never forget. The child shown in this photo was born in November 2024 to one of the women who helped at Grateful Children’s Home. The child’s father had deserted the mom before he was even born, so Enoch was the one to take her to the hospital when she delivered.
Unfortunately, this woman died in childbirth, and Enoch decided to take in this little one so he would not become homeless. Because we walked Enoch through the early months of adding a newborn to his orphanage, he asked us to name this sweet little boy. So “Uncle Mark” decided to share his wonderful name. What a beautiful moment this photo captures of “old Mark” and “little Mark.”
Each time we make a trip to Uganda, we are floored by the generosity of our monthly donors and everyone who gives to The Life 2.0 Foundation so that marriages can be strengthened and children cared for. This visit was also very special to us because we got to visit our two Compassion children that we sponsor—one in Uganda and one in Tanzania.
Now that we’ve been back in the U.S. for a month, we’ve had time to reflect on our journey. Our passion for this mission has been renewed, and we are so ready for what’s next.
There are still many needs that will arise throughout the year, including school fees and supplies, building expenses, new mattresses, and much more. We want to invite you to join us on a monthly basis to ensure that we are able to meet those needs, bring dignity and hope to children in Uganda, and make a lasting difference.
Our goal this year is to gather the support of 50 monthly supporters to meet the needs that arise. We already have 16! Will you help us reach this goal? Join our monthly team here!
