Combrink Missions: Nathan - Baytown - Leftwich

area: Baytown Ward, Houston Texas East Stake

zone: Pasadena

companion: Elder Leftwich

dates: 5/12/2015 to 6/23/2015 (Transfer Period #5)

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email: 5/18/2015

This week was busy and interesting, but also good. Transfers being on Monday made the first week in a new area better because you don't miss basically 2 days of week 1, but it also makes p-day super confusing and busy. I guess that's how missions are though.

I'm super grateful that I'm able to serve with Elder Leftwich! He's a great missionary and knows so much about the scriptures and teaching from them. My companionship studies have definitely improved because I'm with him.

Baytown is super great. All the members I've met so far are very missionary minded and are excited to share what they know with their friends. We've found going over "the importance of members" section in chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel with the members really brings the Spirit and gives them guidance. We also have asked them to volunteer us (missionaries) to their neighbors and friends for service after going over the "go about doing good" section in the same chapter. Brother Files, the ward mission leader, is incredible at his calling. The best I've ever seen. He loves the missionaries, fulfills all his responsibilities, and definitely magnifies his calling. He also reminds me of my grandpa.

Quick Story:

We got a text from a guy on Tuesday asking if we could have dinner with him. We had already had dinner so we said "no thanks, but we'd love to meet up." So he texted back "sure, meet me at Buc-ees (Texas sized gas station (96 pumps (I think)) in 10 minutes." We ran, got in the car, and raced up there. On our way we got a text from the Port Arthur Elders saying some guy would text us, and that he was super nice, loves the missionaries, and would buy us anything. When we got to Buc-ees we met him outside and he introduced himself as Derek, we took a couple pictures and set up a lunch for the next day.

At lunch Derek tells his story that he met missionaries a while back, took all 5 lessons, and doesn't agree with our doctrine (he's a Pentecostal), but he loves the missionaries, and because he works for a security company that takes care of the security systems in a bunch of banks around the Houston area, whenever he's in an area he tries to meet the missionaries there. He's had a meal with about half the missionaries in T.H.E. mission. He'll also buy missionaries whatever they want because he makes pretty good money, doesn't have any loans he's paying off, he's 22, and he's Pentecostal (who have stricter rules than Mormons) so he doesn't use it on himself.

We also had lunch with him again today.

I love all of you. But I love Jesus Christ more. And this is where He wants me. So this is where I want to be.

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email: 5/27/2015

This week has been great! I love being a missionary so much! I've waited 19 years of my life to be where I am right now. Isn't that crazy?

It's kinda like when you find out 7 days early what you're getting for your birthday and then having to wait 7 whole days to be able to open it and use it. Except with a mission, they tell you about this opportunity when you're born... but you don't really know what they said because you're a baby. So when you're about 4 you look around in church and see these 2 guys in suits and ask, "who are they?"

Then your mom tells you, "They're the missionaries. They get to serve Jesus Christ and be His personal representatives for 2 years straight."

And you still don't really understand what that means, but it sounds really cool so you say, "I want to be one! Mom can I be one?!"

And she says "Not right now, you still have a lot to learn, but when you're that big you can be a missionary."

"Alright Mom..."

And you wait... 15 MORE YEARS!!! For the best present ever! Have you ever waited 15 years for something? It's a really long time when you're 4! Like 3.75 multiplied by your lifetime! Ugh...

But now I'm here! And moms, you can tell your 4 year olds that it's definitely worth the wait.

Anyway, I need to tell you about my week. We met a lot of people. For those of you who've seen The Best Two Years, I have a joke. (Otherwise you may skip this next paragraph)

At one point in the movie the Elder who's the District Leader is calling in the numbers for the week, and he gets to the amount of people that Elder Rodgers and Elder Calhuon have invited to be baptized and he says, "well, I'm not sure if this really counts because Elder Calhuon invites everyone they meet to be baptized." and then he pauses and says, "No, there's nothing wrong with that, but... Well, ok. 74 people invited to be baptized."

Elder Leftwich and I have decided that we're sick and tired of being timid. Look at Peter, or Captain Moroni, or Ammon. Were they timid?

Nope. They were bold, as representatives of Jesus Christ should be. We have the most loving, powerful, perfect being who ever walked the Earth backing us up. There's no need to be timid.

So we've made a contacting technique to invite people to be baptized the first time we meet them. First we introduce ourselves and get to know them a little bit. Then we show them the picture in the Gospel of Jesus Christ Pamphlet of Jesus being baptized and ask, "what do you see in this picture?" Then we help them figure out what it is.

Then we ask, "Did you know that Jesus walked from Nazareth to the lower end of the Jordan River, 60 miles, to be baptized by John the Baptist?" They always say "no" and look surprised. Then we ask "Why do you think he did that?" They always say, "I don't know." So we explain priesthood authority. Then we ask them "If Jesus Christ was standing here and invited you to be baptized, what would you say?"

They always say "I'd say yes."

Then we say, "We have been given authority from Jesus Christ, through a modern prophet, and have been called to invite you to be baptized into Jesus Christ's church." That usually throws them off guard... But it works! We got an awesome new investigator named Freddy on Sunday because we used this. As well as a bunch of other people. But yeah, the Prophets and Apostles know how to do missionary work, and when they wrote the 12 week manual and made it a standard to invite investigators during the 1st lesson to be baptized, they knew what they were doing, cuz they're inspired...

Now I'll tell you about the mission conference we had yesterday! Elder Nielson from the Seventy was presiding and he brought the head of all the MTC's, Brother Mills, with him. They taught us mostly about the safeguards put into place for iPad use. But they also talked a little bit about what we're going to be able to do with them. The cool thing about the safeguards is that they're mostly not technology based. Elder Nielson told us, "When the church first started testing iPads in the hands of missionaries, people asked the First Presidency 'Aren't you scared the missionaries will use them inappropriately and many will be sent home because of worthiness issues?' The First Presidency simply responded, 'We trust our missionaries.'"

That was so cool! He also gave another reason. When missionaries go home they will be completely exposed to whatever technology and things of the world they want. And at home they won't have a constant companion, or mission rules, or a very definite purpose. So why wait throw all temptation on them there? When we can teach them here how to put their moral agency into practice and use these tools righteously, and they still have all this protection. I'm so grateful for the chance to learn from general authorities.

I will have an iPad and I will be able to email on it. It will be like letters though, I can read emails throughout the week as I get them, but can only respond on Mondays (P-Days.) We could have access to facebook in the near future, but I have been asked to request all of you back home to not message of chat with media facebook. I will "friend" anyone I know back home but if you message or chat with me I will be forced to put my moral agency into practice and "unfriend" you. Just remember, being "friends" on facebook doesn't necessarily make you friends in real life, and me "unfriending" you on facebook doesn't mean "I hate you or that I have a personal vendetta to make sure you never feel happy, kindness, love, important, and self-worth ever again." Keep that in mind.

I love all of you. But I love Jesus Christ more. And this is where He wants me to be. So this is where I want to be.

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email: 6/1/2015

This week has been exhausting! Each week I center my studies around a specific Christlike attribute and last week I felt like I should work on diligence. Therefore, my week was exhausting…

We went tracting a lot and were led to quite a few people who were prepared enough to set up return appointments and let us teach them there and then.

I loved the mission conference! Elder Nielson was super inspired because he answered so many questions of mine, both that I had consciously pondered and those I couldn't put into words. I really appreciated his comments about agency, that once you have made covenants you no longer have agency to really choose who you are, you're either a true disciple of Jesus Christ or a covenant breaker. That really sunk deep and went along with my study of diligence.

As a mission we are reading the Book of Mormon, one chapter per day. Today was Mosiah chapter 6 in case you want to follow along. But this week King Benjamin made me feel humble. Mosiah 4:5

I'm super grateful to serve in Baytown North! We had dinner with Bishop Brown and his family on Friday and they're great. I love being able to see such inspired leadership as a missionary.

Story Time:

We were going to see a less active member at about 7 p.m. and we didn't have an appointment but we felt like we should try them anyway. So we drive up and there's some people standing in the driveway next door. So we decide to go contact them before we visit our less active. We walk over and introduce ourselves and meet Rod and Rod Jr. After a minute of just small talk Rod Sr. goes inside. But Rod Jr. stayed outside and talked to us. Eventually he asked who we were. We told him about how we're missionaries or representatives of Jesus Christ and His Church. He thought that was cool because he had recently gotten out of prison and had become a "believer" when he was in there. We ended up talking to him for about an hour in his driveway, covering parts of the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Law of Chastity. He told us his life story and all the stuff that the Lord saved him from and the stuff he's still working on.

That's still something I don't get... We just walk up to people and within a couple of minutes they're giving us full on confessions... I'm 19. Elder Leftwich is 20. Can someone please explain why someone would just start spilling their guts to us boys, who are complete strangers, who are walking from house to house, who grew up a couple thousand miles away, and who are "Mormons"? The only explanation I have is that they feel the Spirit and recognize us as Jesus Christ's representatives.

Back to Rod Jr. We went back and taught him on Friday and he's super receptive! He wants to follow Jesus Christ and continue to allow Him to change his life.

My mom put my email on the blog. You can email me but I would still like letters every once in a while, they just seem more loving…

I love all of you! But I love Jesus Christ more. And this is where He wants me. So this is where I want to be.

Mom, The members in Baytown say the news is making the flooding look a lot worse than it is. Yes, it was super destructive in some areas, but in most places, you didn't even know it happened. And Mrs. Nelson's and Mrs. Hill's advice - that if I didn't say anything about it, it means I'm fine - is good advice. I don't get the news... So the only way I know something dangerous happened would be to experience it myself.

Also, the mission office promises to let you know if I am in any danger at all.

Thanks for everything mom!

I love you!

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email: 6/8/2015

This week was difficult. I've been working on charity with Elder Leftwich this week. I've been struggling really feeling genuine love for my Savior and those people that I come in contact with for the past couple months. I know that I love them, I could think of a bunch of reasons to love them, why I need to love them, scriptures to describe that love, but I wasn't feeling it. So that's why I was working on it this week. I learned from Moroni 7 that the only way to attain this feeling was to pray "with all the energy of heart." So I've been doing that this week and I really started thinking more charitable, and less desiring that people become key indicators like new investigators or sacrament meeting attendees, but simply desiring them to be happy. That's all I want. To help others be happy, knowing that the happiness we're all looking for only comes through living the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And then Saturday evening I FELT the pure love of Christ. I've felt it before but it feels new every time.

Because we've been working really hard to be bold in our contacting and being diligent in our labors we've been able to set up a bunch of return appointments. Most of those ended up to be Saturday. We had 7 set lesson appointments planned for on Saturday. And as we went through our day these investigators fell through. Every one of them. All 7 set appointments. And after the last one I felt like weeping because I know that the testimony that I carry can help these people come unto Christ and experience the greatest happiness they've ever known. I've met all these people before and seen the confusion and darkness behind their eyes, and I know that if they would just sincerely listen and act I know that the confusion and darkness can be replaced by a testimony and the Spirit. But they all fell through. My feelings remind me of Moses 7: 28-33 when God is weeping.

Then on Sunday I felt the happiness that comes from charity as we taught 2 incredible lessons with people who have a strong desire to come closer to Christ and receive the Restored Gospel. The Spirit was so strong. We were able to bare testimony to these investigators like never before. You could just see walls coming down and lights turning on in their minds. I love being a missionary, even though it's the hardest thing I've ever done.

I love all of you. But I love Jesus Christ more. And this is where He wants me. So this is where I want to be.

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email: 6/16/2015

We had a pretty fantastic week! It's rained quite a bit though... they say a tropical storm is supposed to hit today but we'll be fine. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is pretty much the most organized and fastest working group on the planet, so we're super taken care of.

Quick story: a couple weeks ago when all the flooding was happening we didn't even know about it because we never watch the news and it wasn't happening where I am now. But there was an apartment complex in the City of Houston that was mostly Hispanic residents and it got wrecked. After the really dangerous flooding was gone the city workers were trying to help but there weren't enough police officers or firemen who spoke Spanish. So someone suggested the Mormon Missionaries to come and help clean up and translate. Within 2 hours from the time it was suggested there were over 30 Spanish speaking missionaries there.

I felt the Spirit so strong at the Zone Conference yesterday! When we read Doctrine and Covenants 31:6 I got such a reassurance that my service as a missionary truly is preparing a place for my family in the Kingdom of God. I know that the promise found in scriptures as well as all the blessings I received before I came on my mission, that a missionary's family is cared for by the Lord, is true.

I've also always struggled with promising the blessing of salvation. Mostly because any church can say that they can get you salvation and then you can't find out until you're dead whether they were telling the truth or not. I have felt that people are more likely to be accepting and committal if I've told them about the more instant blessings the Lord has promised us. But I guess I've been underestimating these investigators preparedness. I know that true salvation -- Eternal Life -- is only found by making covenants with God through ordinances performed by proper priesthood authority, and if I testify of that then these people will feel the Spirit. When Elder Foster said, "this isn't a membership push. This isn't about the church getting more members. This is about these people who need something that we have. Salvation." I really felt the Spirit telling me that salvation is the greatest blessing and as the Lord's representative, I can promise it. Anyway, I learned a lot from the Conference.

I'd like to tell you about one of our investigators. There's a 15 year old girl we taught her whole family once but the next time we went over there the parents dropped us. But before they did that this 15 year old girl told us that she's been reading the Book of Mormon and is really enjoying it. You could see the light in her eyes as she talked about it. But her parents are holding her back. There's a picture at the beginning of Preach My Gospel depicting Lehi's dream and on the right side of the picture there's people walking towards the great and spacious building. Some of these people are parents, holding the hands of their children. It makes me really think about all those who are in that building just because they were led there as children. We'll continue to pray for and invite this family.

I love all of you! But I love Jesus Christ more. And this is where He wants me. So this is where I want to be.

(additional quick email Nathan sent - he wrote "don't be scared" in the subject line) we just got a tornado warning. that's kinda cool. now I know what it'll be like to hide under the stairs with juice boxes. Joshua 1:9!

Love you mom

(when I was little we lived in a 2 story townhouse in Kansas. I remember "hanging out" with my mom and little brother(s) in the little half-bath under the stairs during tornadoes)

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email: 6/23/2015

I'm in Louisiana! Jennings to be more specific. I've left the city and come to the country. It's super green here. And Main Street in Crowley reminds me of Placerville Main street. (We live in Crowley for now because the apartment in Jennings was not a good environment so now we're waiting for the Church to find a new apartment in Jennings for us. For the time being we have to drive 20 miles to get to our area… )

My new companion is Elder Kohler. He's been out 3 transfers (18 weeks). We were white-washed into this area, meaning we are both new, but Elder Kohler's last area was Crowley which is in the same branch, so he already knows the branch members and a lot of the area. I'm also a district leader now, meaning I get to serve not only the people of my area, but also the 4 missionaries in the Jennings Branch.

Last week was a lot of fun. It rained, nonstop, for 6 days. It never flooded where I was though. We taught an awesome young couple named Corey and Amanda. We also helped Sister Obu (her husband is a member who joined the church when he was a teenager living in Nigeria) understand what she needed to do to prepare for baptism and she accepted July 26 as the date she'll get baptized, so I'll get to go back to Baytown for that.

We said goodbye to all the ward members. I'm going to miss Brother Files (he's the ward mission leader or the guy to looks after the missionaries serving there and helps them coordinate efforts with the ward.

I'm going to miss that area. I'll miss Elder Leftwich too. He's got such a strong desire to be a good guy. He strives to do his best.

I'm looking forward to getting a bunch of exciting stories from Louisiana! I love being a missionary!

I love all of you. But I love Jesus Christ more. And this is where He wants me to be. So this is where I want to be.

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pictures: 5/12/2015 to 6/23/2015 (Transfer Period #5)