“Playground Prayer,” Friend, Dec. 2023, 30–31.
Playground Prayer
Trying to learn English made Davi’s head hurt!
This story took place in England.
Davi was excited for playtime. He tried hard to listen to his teacher, Miss Taylor. But it was hard for him to understand what she was saying in English. It made Davi’s head hurt.
Davi’s family had just moved from Brazil to England. He had a new house and a new school. But the biggest change of all was that now Davi had a new language to learn! He missed his old home. He missed his friends who all spoke Portuguese like he did.
Miss Taylor clapped her hands. “It’s playtime!” she said.
Davi jumped out of his chair. He knew that word! He could eat a treat and play on the swings. And he could take a break from learning English.
When Davi went outside, other kids ran ahead of him to play. They were already friends. And they all spoke the same language. When Davi tried to listen to them, his brain hurt again. He felt so alone.
I wish I had a friend, Davi thought. What should I do?
Davi remembered what his mum and dad had told him. “You can pray anytime, anywhere, and Heavenly Father will hear you,” they said.
This was the perfect time to pray!
Davi looked around the playground. He saw a wooden playhouse. Davi went inside. It was quiet there. He got on his knees, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.
“Dear Heavenly Father, I want to play with the other kids. I want to learn English. Please help me.”
When he finished praying, Davi felt a warm, peaceful feeling in his heart. He knew even if he didn’t have a lot of friends yet, Heavenly Father was always his friend.
After playtime, Davi went back to the classroom. It was still hard to understand English. But he decided to keep trying!
For weeks Davi practiced. He read lots of stories in English. He listened to Miss Taylor. He practiced talking to the other kids too.
Every time Davi felt sad, he said a prayer. Each time his head hurt from trying to learn English, he said a prayer. And each time he prayed, Heavenly Father helped him feel peace. He felt like he could keep trying.
Even more weeks passed. It got easier to understand Miss Taylor. Davi started making friends and talking with them. He even won a prize in school for working hard and reading well!
One day a new student came to Davi’s class at school. His name was Leo. He was from another country and didn’t know English very well.
At playtime, Davi saw Leo sitting on the swing by himself. He looked sad. Davi remembered how lonely he felt when he was new. He wanted to be Leo’s friend.
Davi ran to Leo. “Hi. I’m Davi.” He held up a football. “Want to play?”
Leo nodded and hopped off the swing.
Davi felt warm inside. He was glad he could be a friend to Leo, just like Heavenly Father was a friend to him.
Illustrations by Maja Andersen