Charlie and Abby

We have lived in Mevagissey for just over two years, and love being part of this beautiful community.

We are prayer missionaries, praying for our community, listening to God, and seeking to respond to what He wants us to do here. We gather regularly to pray with local believers, prayer walk, and spend time getting to know those who live here. Charlie runs a youth group for the primary age kids in the village; Abby is also working on her PhD in Theology. We have three boys – Solomon (8), Eli (5), and Jowan (1).

We never planned on moving to Cornwall, but felt very definitely called here; we didn’t know anyone in the village, but with the support of our partner church and South West Baptist Association, and the encouragement of Rural Ministries and various other networks, we sold our house in Birmingham and moved into the only available place to rent at the time.

This rented landing pad was a real gift; its location was perfect for getting to know people, and it was spacious enough for us to host comfortably. However, it wasn’t a suitable option for us long term. It had a car park space, but no other available parking nearby. It had plenty of rooms, but the way the house was structured meant it didn’t really work in terms of the hospitality we like to offer people. It didn’t have a garden (which we sorely missed for our boys), and the rent was astronomical. We began to pray and eventually got put in touch with Mission Housing, who we thought only worked in London. To our delight, they were keen to explore a partnership with us! Similarly to those in London, Mevagissey is a difficult place to find or afford suitable housing, especially on a part time wage which is supplemented by missionary grants. Within a few months we had found a house, had an offer accepted, and began the process of purchasing it. Mission Housing were professional, efficient, supportive and encouraging the whole way along. We particularly loved the weaving together of prayer and practical support – and felt the whole time that mission really is at the heart of what Mission Housing do.

One thing that struck us through this process is the generosity of God and our ability to receive it when we partner with others. If we were to choose a house for ourselves, we wouldn’t ever have looked at the one we now call home. It is absolutely perfect for us – almost too good to be true. It is the right location, it has a garden (which is so essential for our boys!), it has space for more than our car, it has enough room without being too big, the layout is ideal for hosting, it is homely and inviting, and needed not too much work!! Sometimes it is hard, as missionaries, to be really honest about what we actually need to make living and working where we are, long term and sustainable. It's also hard sometimes to be honest about preference, what we’d ideally like, what would really suit us as a family, where we would enjoy living – hard to move away from a ‘make-do’ mindset that scrimps along on a bare minimum and just gets by. Now, we all have seasons and situations where we have to make do! But the process with Mission Housing helped us to be honest and open with our needs and our hopes and gave us the encouragement to pursue a house that was ideal. The house is such a blessing to us – a constant reminder of the generosity of God and His ability to provide, but also of the need to work together, to function as community, to be dependent on the help of others, rather than necessarily go it alone.

We have loved welcoming others into our home and look forward to loads more of that in the years to come. We truly feel settled here – able to unpack our belongings and put down some roots. Our home is such a central part of our vocation and the place of much coming and going. Thanks be to God for His abundant care and provision, and for our partnership with Mission Housing who have made this possible for us.