Terren and Sanna Peterson

Which Parish Area you live in? Lauderdale

If you could describe your pandemic experience in 3 words, which would you choose? Isolated, Frustrating, Tired

Tell us about Youth Life Foundation of Richmond (YLFR) and how you originally got involved in the organization? Our family has been involved with the YLFR for many years. Leigh (Terren's wife) is a long-term friend of Heather Goodlett and served on the board for several years, and we have been direct donors for ten years. Terren currently serves on the board. Sanna began supporting YLFR in middle school by helping raise money through Short Pump Middle School.

Here’s a picture of the area where we built it at the YLFR Northminster location.

What was the special project you (Terren and Sanna) took on this summer? This summer we put together a large outdoor playground.

How did it go? The project took several weekends across the summer, but was a great opportunity to get outside of our house and outside. 

When you hear about a project to assemble a playground, you may think that the effort is like a big lego project where you’re snapping together multiple pieces. While that’s true, 80% of the effort of the project comes down to digging holes, lining up the posts in the ground, and pouring concrete.  Here’s a photo of Sanna and fellow volunteer (and also Third covenant partner) Charles Ellison after we got the holes dug for the first tower.

What do you want to share with the Third community about what you’ve learned or witnessed during this project? What I was able to witness is the outpouring of support for others in a time of need. While we spent many weekends on this, we were able to get help from others within our Third family. For example, several members of the Third youth program helped unload the equipment on the day it was delivered. For spreading mulch, the Ellison family who are also covenant partners came and pushed wheelbarrows all-day.

What is your prayer for our church community right now? We pray that despite these times of isolation that we don’t turn inward, and forget about the broader community that we are a part of. 

Thank you Terren and Sanna-- so grateful for you and your family!