Meet and Greet - Elaine Saberan

Hello Everyone,

My name is Elaine. I’m from the surrounding metro Detroit area, and found my way making ties in Atlanta that led me here. It was a total God move. I’ll tell you about that in a couple minutes. I grew up in a Pentecostal church. Many of you can already picture what that looks like: singing and dancing around the church to the sound of clinging tambourines, laying of hands until you found yourself on the floor covered with a potato sack, and the gift of tongues being used openly. That was my normal until I was about 16 years old, when I decided to go my own way and experience the world. What I discovered is that the world promises a false sense of connection and community, of love and acceptance. Only if you do and love what the world does, you’ll be accepted, and I made myself fit right in. Eventually, if you live in the world long enough, you realize it doesn’t have much to offer. You realize it’s lonely, isolating, surface-level, unsatisfying, and leaving you spiritually starving. God never left me, but allowed me to go through years of wandering in order that I might realize my need for Him. No relationship apart from Him was godly, healthy, or edifying. I longed for real relationship, with God and with others around me within work, family, and society. It took me years of hurt and hardship in relationships, and much time with the Lord, to learn what a godly relationship looks like and how to navigate that. Even still, I’m learning.

So back to how I got connected in Atlanta, and ended up here. I planned a trip in October this year to Kentucky to visit the caves and hike some trails. But before the cave tours and hiking, I decided to visit the Ark Encounter since it was on the way. The beginning of the trip I had planned was to be the beginning of a very different kind of adventure, one that only God planned. I arrived at the Ark shuttle bus and sat at the front, where I soon realized was designated for handicap and families with infant children. I quickly moved to the next nearest seat in the back by the window. Not a minute later when I was deep in thought, I was very kindly interrupted by a man who asked if the seat was available next to me. This man was of course Nathan. He began telling me about the ministry he was involved in around the city of Atlanta. His heart and vision about training young adult Christians how to have strong relationships spoke to me as well (knowing what I know now, and experiencing everything I had years before), and so when I was invited to join, it was almost a no-brainer. I still had to pray about it, of course. My heart for young adults is the same; I want to draw the Christian community together, focusing on building strong and lasting relationships that are first and foremost God-centered.  I have joined Nathan and his team to help with event planning, training videos, and administrative support. We are building a community that disciples Christian adults in their 20’s and 30’s on how to love their families, friends, co-workers, and eventually their spouses. It is good work that will outlive our team and will be passed on to the next generation of community-builders.