“When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like your own” (Leviticus 19:33-34 MSG). That’s the mission of Furniture Friends’ who find inspiration from this verse in Leviticus.
This principle is what led Bill Moeller to start this organization over 20 years ago. Furniture Friends provides furniture for international students and refugee families in Northwest Arkansas. Moeller initially set out to befriend and welcome international students at the University of Arkansas. That was until he quickly realized they needed more than just his friendship.
So there Moeller was, collecting furniture in his garage. As word spread and demand grew, he partnered with local churches and American students to help store and deliver furniture. The expansion achieved both of his goals, providing furniture and creating genuine connections between international students and volunteers.
The organization can completely transform a student’s life here in the United States. As Furniture Friends Director Jordan Smith said, “We don’t just deliver furniture and leave, but we try to keep those connections going… it’s a privilege for us to be able to love them like God loves them.”
“They became the first set of friends I could speak to,” Vincent Nwilo, an international student from Nigeria, said. “The impact has been bigger than just furniture.”
Nwilo said that one of his most meaningful experiences was attending church with those friends, which deepened his faith and his sense of community. If he hadn’t met someone to take him to church and events, he said, “it would have been terrible.”
Another student, Farzana Fahmee from Bangladesh, said, “Furniture Friends actually made my apartment like a home.”
Students are allowed to request furniture before they even arrive in Arkansas, guaranteeing their furniture is already set up upon arrival – a warm welcome awaiting them.
With only four people on staff, two part-time and two full-time, volunteers are a true difference maker for Furniture Friends. One volunteer even bought a truck, just so he could fill a need.
Volunteer opportunities range from regular Saturday or rare weekday furniture deliveries to cross-cultural engagement that goes beyond volunteering. As Smith said, this can mean making new friends or even teaching an international student how to drive. Volunteer Jake Black recounted his trip to Chick-fil-A with an international friend to get him his first-ever chicken sandwich.
The reward for volunteers might seem small, but it is immediate and impactful.
“They come over here with nothing,” Black said. “The joy on their face, when they get a bed and a couch, that’s one of the most rewarding things.”
Furniture Friends goes beyond providing furniture by presenting opportunities for international students to be in community with each other. “Events are constantly being coordinated” for both volunteers and students,Smith said.
Fahmee said she was able to make her own community here because of events like “girls’ night,” where she gets to meet other international students who have benefited from Furniture Friends. This past summer, they also had swim lessons for international women and currently have small groups for volunteers to learn more about engaging cross-culturally.
Our mission is “that every international student and resettled refugee in Northwest Arkansas would have access to furniture and to friendship,” Smith said. The mission is evident through the actions they are taking to create a diverse and supportive community.
“Furniture Friends is the backbone of some of the cool things that have been happening in my life,” Nwilo said. “[They] didn’t just give me furniture; they gave me a brother… that’s something I think everybody should know about.”