Elizabeth Sablon
(Deacon nominee)
Elizabeth was born in Medellín, Colombia. She moved with her family to the United States in the mid-1980s. When Elizabeth was nine-years-old her father passed away and that was an event that marked her life. Prior to her father’s passing, she had heard a story of a man that was thought to be dead for three years and one day who showed up at his family’s doorstep. That story stayed with Elizabeth and when her father passed, she remembered it and in her nine-year-old mind created a fantasy and a sense of hope that her father would one day return home. Every night at 7:00, she waited patiently for her father to open the house door as he had done every night before his passing. She waited for her father to return for three long years.
Her waiting came to an abrupt stop after her mother moved on with her life and became pregnant with her youngest brother. Elizabeth developed feelings of hatred towards her mother. She felt betrayed, lonely, and angry. She knew it was wrong to feel that way towards her mother because those feelings made her feel dirty, worthless, depressed to the point that she did not want to live. She was twelve by now. One day, she was walking down the street in her barrio Medellín on her way to the butcher store, and she felt horrible! She felt a very heavy weight on her back; she felt dirty and worthless and with a great sense of shame to the point that she would walk with her head down, never looking into peoples’ eyes.
That is when she had a supernatural experience. In the middle of the street, on an ordinary weekday morning, Jesus spoke to her and said: “I love you! Your sins are forgiven.” He did not reproach or condemn her. Elizabeth states that Jesus’ voice was so sweet, calm, and yet so powerful that she felt a heavy weight lifted and the chains of shame cut. That experience was life changing! From that moment, she made the decision to follow Jesus and to serve Him. She began to attend Sunday mass more regularly at the local parish and volunteered to teach catechism (Sunday school in the Catholic church). She felt the need to do so and to learn as much as she could and to desire for others what she had been given. She had been set free, and she recognized then that she was born again.
Elizabeth began to serve the Lord from that moment and to this day she continues to do so. Elizabeth desires to serve the Lord with all He has given her, including her gifts, talents, and limitations. One way Elizabeth has served the Lord is by writing a book called Bible ABCs at a Glance which is a coloring book with Bible passages for children. The illustrators for the coloring book are her daughters, Lizbeth Marie and Lilian Marcela.
Since becoming a member of Intown about 18 years ago, Elizabeth has been a host at International Welcome Parties, a Sunday school teacher, and a short-term missionary and interpreter.
Elizabeth is married to Yuri Sablon and together they have three children: Juan Felipe is a college student at Kennesaw State University where he is pursuing a mechanical engineering degree. Lizbeth Marie and Liliana Marcela are students at Greater Atlanta Christian School.
She is currently employed by Emory University in the School of Medicine with the Newborn Screening program where she is heading a five-year pilot project to collect data on children born with rare diseases. Currently, the pilot project consists of three rare metabolic diseases which impede newborns’ ability to metabolize certain fats. The goal is to track the long-term health outcomes of children with these diseases and to track the obstacles to caring for these families.