Dalia's in print! (3/2022)

We were caught off guard when Mom received an influx of texts about Dalia being spotted in the Friend magazine! A two year lag from submission to publication meant that it had long since dropped off our radar. In fact, we no longer subscribe to the magazine - now opting for the teen version with Dalia nearing the youth program. In addition, Dalia had gotten a formal rejection letter long ago so we had written it off entirely. It was a nice surprise and when you're published, you need the official copy so we asked Omi to scout some out in Utah. She came through with a few so Dalia could see her name in print!  

Here's the original content:

I was at recess playing when my friend asked when we could have a playdate. She suggested, “How about Thursday?” I said, “ I can’t, I have dance.” She then asked, “How about Sunday?” I said, “I am so sorry that does not work either, I have church.” Then my friend said, “Well then let’s go head and do Sunday.” I reminded my friend one more time that I had church and I could not get together on Sunday. My friend was familiar with church but she has a different religion. She then insisted, “After church we can get together!” I was getting pretty impatient with my friend so I took a second to think of how to say what I wanted to say in a nice way. Then, I calmly said to my friend, “My family believes that Sunday is a spiritual day to worship God and be with your family.” She said nothing after that and was ok with the way my family’s feelings about Sundays. That night her mom asked my mom if another day would work and it did! I still got to play with my friend but most importantly I could spend my Sunday spiritually and make it special. My friend also never asked about Sunday again. I felt warm inside after I had taught her about my sabbath day.

The condensed version:

My friend invited me to play on Sunday. I thought of a nice way to explain to her that Sunday is a spiritual day for me to worship God and spend time with my family. I felt warm inside after that.

Dalia P., age 9, Nebraska, USA

There's another household member who was in the Friend magazine. Mom can't find her official "Friends in the News" story but her photographic memory remembers the photo submitted: