Merriam-Webster defines “wellspring” as “a source of continual supply,” and the bible teaches us that Jesus is the wellspring of life. Acknowledging that every good and perfect gift comes from God, Wellspring endeavors to be God’s hand in meeting the needs of orphaned and abandoned children in Kenya, East Africa, as well as the source of good gifts to ministry partners in Mexico.

Wellspring began in the heart of God. He called Alan and Pam May to go to Eldoret, Kenya to establish a children’s home. Alan and Pam had no children of their own, no knowledge of Swahili, no experience raising children, and certainly no wherewithal to care for so many children. In fact, the call on their lives is a beautiful illustration of God’s use of the least likely people to do His bidding. The Mays packed up and moved to Kenya on Valentine’s Day 2005, and within a month, God provided them a place to live and another rental house around the corner from their own to establish the Haven Children’s Home. Dickson was the first child who was found wandering the streets of Eldoret in search of food. His parents were deceased, and his older sister abandoned him. Dickson did not remain an ‘only child’ at the Haven very long. He was soon joined by twelve other children, and by the end of 2005, there were 21 children affectionately calling Alan and Pam Daddy and Mama Mzungu (Daddy White Man and Mama White Woman).

Already partnering with Ben and Mary Bahati, the founders of Global Field Evangelism – Kenya, the Mays and the Bahatis envisioned a permanent home where the children of the Haven and the girls of the Bahatis’ Fresh Start, a home for about twenty girls, could flourish together without the heavy burden of monthly rent, inadequate septic systems, and cramped quarters. By 2007, land was acquired and construction was underway on a three acre plot in a rural setting. A dining hall and two two-story dormitory buildings were built. The boys’ dorm was named the Haven and the girls’ dorm was named Fresh Start, and the joint home is called the GFE Children’s Home. They moved into the new home in 2008, and to date, more than 120 children have become part of the GFE Children’s Home. Many have grown up and moved out, yet they still consider themselves members of the GFE family.

The Mays returned to the U.S. in 2008 and continue to raise support for the GFE Home and to lead annual mission teams to visit, encourage, and partner with the GFE family to minister to their own neighbors in the village of Jua Kali, residents of the Kamkunji slum, students and faculty of the Cheramei Primary School, and even inmates at the Eldoret prisons, both the men’s prison and women’s prison. Alan has since become involved in mission trips to Mexico, and Wellspring now has involvement in meeting needs of ministry partners there. The accounts of God’s divine intervention and provision throughout this journey are too numerous to list. Let it suffice to say that the Lord has indeed shown Himself to be the Wellspring of resources to meet the needs of all.

Initially, the U.S. support side of the The Haven, and later the GFE Children’s Home, was exclusively under the auspices of Harvest International, Inc. in Ocala, FL., the mission sending agency through which the Mays and the Haven were supported in Kenya. Sero Project later became the primary sponsoring non-profit organization for the GFE Children’s Home in 2010 while some donors continue to support the children through Harvest International. During this period, Alan bore the lion’s share of administrative work for Sero Project, including time spent banking, keeping books, and tax-receipting donors, all of which resulted in a less than ideal frequency of updates to donors about the ministry and progress of the children. Alan had been praying for an administrative solution to this dilemma for a long time. Then Alan discovered Axia International, a non-profit organization whose mission is “Serving Those Who Serve Others,” and now Axia provides all administrative support to the ministry and its supporters. With the transition to Axia, the ministry was renamed “Wellspring” to mark the new chapter and to reflect the sourcing nature of the ministry.