“Teams and Talents,” Friend, May 2022
Teams and Talents
The best teams work together and help each other get better.
“Run, Jillian, run!” Dad shouted. Jillian’s dad was the coach of her football team. They were practicing extra hard to get ready for the championship game. The sun was hot, but Jillian kept running.
At last Dad blew the whistle. “OK, let’s have a break.”
Jillian grabbed her water bottle and sat on the bench with the boys. She was the only girl on the team, but she didn’t mind. They all worked together and helped each other get better. Even though she was tired and sweaty, she felt happy to play with her team.
“Dad, how did we do today?” she asked.
Dad smiled. “Great! I think the team is ready for the game.”
Jillian smiled back. All their hard work was worth it!
On her way home from practice, Jillian saw her friend Mei. They were in the same Primary class. But Mei hadn’t come to Primary for a while.
Jillian smiled at Mei. “Hi, Mei! I’ve missed you at Primary. Are you OK?”
Mei stared down at her shoes. “My mom doesn’t want to go to church.”
“How come?”
“I don’t know.” Mei lifted her head. “Well, I have to go.”
Jillian waved and watched Mei walk away. How can I help Mei? she wondered.
When Jillian got home, she played some Primary songs on her ukulele. Then she invited her brothers to sing along. They sang until Mom called them for dinner.
“I’m going to visit Sister Aurea tomorrow,” Mom said.
“Sister Aurea is Mei’s mom, right?” Jillian asked. “Can I go with you? Mei hasn’t been coming to Primary. And when I saw her today, she seemed kind of sad.”
“Sure, you can come,” Mom said.
“I’ll bring my ukulele! I can play Primary songs. I bet she misses singing them,” said Jillian.
When they got to Mei’s house the next day, Jillian gave Mei a big hug. While their moms talked, the girls went outside. Jillian played her ukulele, and Mei picked the songs. They had fun laughing and singing together until it was time for Jillian to go.
“It was great to see you,” Jillian said. “We’ve missed you in Primary.”
“Yeah, I wish I could come. Maybe I’ll ask my mom again.”
The next Sunday, Mei was at church. Jillian sat beside her. “I’m so happy you could come,” she said.
Mei grinned. “Me too.”
A few days later it was finally time for the big football game. Jillian asked the team to say a prayer before the game. Then it was time to play. Jillian ran as fast as she could. She worked with her team to get the ball and score goals. Her team won the game!
That night as she lay in bed, Jillian thought about Mei and her football team. She was happy to be part of a team, just like she was happy to be part of Primary. They all helped each other. Jillian was glad she could help her friends, whether it was at church or on the field.
Illustrations by Marcos Calo