The Firewood Race

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boy holding firewood

Luke’s feet pounded the ground. He looked over his shoulder. His brother, Robert, was catching up with him!

“Tag! You’re it!” Robert said.

Luke giggled. He chased after his older sister, Mili.

After the game, everyone sat down to rest.

“What can we play now?” Mili asked.

Luke was glad he had siblings to play with. But COVID-19 had changed a lot of things. They couldn’t go to places with lots of people. And sometimes they weren’t even allowed to be outside.

Luke tried to think of a game they could play. Then he thought of something he had heard in Primary.

“I think we should do something to be prepared,” Luke said.

“What do you mean?” Mili asked.

Luke looked at the guava trees around their house. “The prophet said we should never stop preparing. Maybe we can collect firewood today. We can make it a game to see who can get the most!”

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boy and girl running and holding firewood

Luke and his siblings raced to the trees near their house. Luke piled sticks in his arms and ran back to stack his wood in the shed. When his siblings got there, he helped them stack up their wood too. They ran back and forth until they’d collected a huge pile.

“This is enough to cook with for a whole week!” Mili said.

“That was fun,” Robert said. “I like being prepared!”

“Me too,” Luke said. He wanted to do something else to be prepared.

Next he and his brother and sister planted bele (a green vegetable) in their garden. Luke cut the stems from old plants so they could plant them and grow more.

While they worked, their grandparents and parents came outside.

“Did you plant bele on your own?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes,” Luke said. “And we got firewood too!”

“Thank you,” said Dad. “I was really busy today. I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

That afternoon, Luke sat inside with his family. They heard an announcement on the radio that everyone would have to stay inside for four days to stop COVID-19 from spreading. Nobody was allowed to leave their home.

“It’s good we collected firewood today. We wouldn’t be able to now,” said Mili.

Luke smiled. He was happy they had followed the prophet’s invitation to be prepared.