Persistent Pizza

<p>At age twelve, Ibrahim arrived in Italy from West Africa, not knowing a word of Italian, struggling with a stutter, and forced to face anti-immigrant putdowns. None of that stopped the hard-working young man who, in his twenties, opened a pizza shop in Trento, Italy. His little business won over doubters to be listed as one of the top fifty pizzerias in the world. </p> <p>His hope was then to help feed hungry children on Italian streets. So he launched a &ldquo;pizza charity&rdquo; by expanding a Neapolitan tradition&mdash;where customers buy an extra coffee (<em>caff&egrave; sospeso</em>) for those in need&mdash;to pizza (<em>pizza</em> <em>sospesa</em>). He also urges immigrant children to look past prejudice and not give up.<br />Such persistence recalls Paul&rsquo;s lessons to the Galatians on continually doing good to all. &ldquo;Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up&rdquo; (Galatians 6:9). Paul continued, &ldquo;Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers&rdquo; (v. 10). </p> <p>Ibrahim, an immigrant who faced prejudice and language barriers, created an opportunity to do good. Food became &ldquo;a bridge&rdquo; leading to tolerance and understanding. Inspired by such persistence, we too can look for opportunities to do good. God, then, gets the glory as He works through our steady trying.</p>