Through furniture, friendship, and faith, local churches in Northwest Arkansas are creating space for cross-cultural connection.
Just days after moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas, Maaika and Jordan found themselves carrying couches and chairs into the apartment of a couple from Bangladesh who had also just arrived in town. As they were leaving, the woman, Noor*, stopped Maaika and asked a simple question:
“Can you be my friend?”
Maaika and Jordan had moved to Arkansas to serve with Furniture Friends, a ministry that provides free furniture to international students and refugees. The ministry began more than 20 years ago when a local church member discovered that an international student was living in an almost-empty apartment. He rallied his church to help, and soon, word spread. What began with one apartment grew into a trusted ministry among the University of Arkansas’ international community.
But Furniture Friends offers more than furniture. With each delivery comes an opportunity to extend authentic friendship—and for those relationships to open doors to deeper conversations about life and faith.
For Noor, that friendship continued long after the furniture was delivered. She and Maaika grew close, and Noor became part of a growing community of international and American women gathering for monthly events and Bible studies.
These gatherings bring together women from different cultures and faith backgrounds to build relationships and explore Scripture. Maaika has studied the Bible alongside women from Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist backgrounds, learning to navigate different perspectives on God, sin, and salvation while continually returning to what Scripture says.
Maaika describes much of this work as “stone clearing.” Rather than always seeing the harvest, it is the slow and faithful work of removing barriers and misconceptions so women can encounter the God of the Bible for themselves.
Maaika saw this in her friendship with Yazmin,* a Pakistani woman who began attending the Bible study while walking through a difficult season. Before Yazmin returned to Pakistan, Maaika thanked her for being willing to openly discuss their different beliefs and wrestle with questions about God.
Yazmin told her that a year earlier, she would not have been open to those conversations. But when she and her husband faced significant challenges, Christians surrounded them with practical help, kindness, and genuine friendship.
That care, she told Maaika, opened her heart to listen.
Today, eight churches across Northwest Arkansas partner with Furniture Friends, offering their furniture, time, and friendship to welcome internationals in their community. On any given Saturday, volunteers from multiple congregations serve side by side, meeting practical needs and building relationships with neighbors from around the world.
What began with one church member noticing an empty apartment has grown into a ministry shaped by the faithful presence of the local church. Sometimes that looks like carrying a couch. Sometimes it looks like opening the Bible around a table. And sometimes it begins with a simple question:
“Can you be my friend?”
For Furniture Friends, the answer is yes—and that friendship can make room for something much more.
*Names changed for privacy.
