Global Impact is Just Around the Corner

Did you know that some of the best international food in Birmingham is just down the street from the CFC building? You can’t find it in a restaurant, though. It is handmade by Mrs. Bibi in the small kitchen of a second-story apartment unit off Valley Avenue. She lives there with her seven children.

There, sitting on Bibi’s living room floor, I discovered that naan, a bread I had previously only associated with India, is also a staple of Afghan cuisine. And their version is delicious. Bibi served it alongside hot tea and rice with raisins, atop a beautiful woven cloth that she had laid out before us.

To be honest, as delicious as the cooking was, it was her hospitality that left the biggest impression. Hospitality from a refugee in my own backyard. By God’s grace, I was able to share that experience with my eight year old son and fellow CFC member Reagan Wells (who had been there with me the first time as well) when we delivered furniture to Bibi one rainy day the following week. My entire family has since spent time with hers on multiple occasions, including dinner at our house one time over the holidays.

From here, the blessings have only multiplied. My five-year old prays for Mrs. Bibi regularly. My children who came to us through adoption have realized that there are other hard stories out there. And my three-year-old knows what naan tastes like.

That’s all from one family, but there are others, including another Afghan family with whom our growth group had previously connected. There is a Syrian family that my wife drove to get clothes and an Eritrean woman she helped at the supermarket (while my daughters kept her two-year-old son entertained).

All of these refugee families live in West Homewood, and they continue to come.

This year, over 350 refugees will be settled here. The resettlement agency is overwhelmed and under-supported. And here we are.

CFC is poised to meet some of these critical needs with resources, time, skills, jobs, friendships, and ultimately the good news of Jesus. Many of the areas people are coming from do not have access to the gospel and are hard to reach. Most of the people now arriving have only what could fit into a suitcase. Yet here they are, sojourners, most of whom are eager to welcome us into their new homes to serve us a meal.

Some of the best international food in Birmingham is just down the street. If that blows your mind like it did mine, consider this. For at least 350 of our neighbors, your chicken pot pie might be the most international dish they’ve ever tried, too.