SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 5, 2022 – Nathaniel “Brother Nat” Kong, 59, was tragically killed this week while supervising a court-ordered family visit that turned violent. The Mora Guitierrez sisters – 13-year-old Samia, 10-year-old Samantha and 9-year-old Samarah – also died in the heartbreaking attack before their father ended his own life. This family had been attending the church in Sacramento under the shepherding care of Nathaniel for almost 5 years before this tragic event happened. Since many have made inquiries about Nathaniel, a short version of his history is presented below. Nathaniel loved to give, lived to give and ultimately died to give. He was committed to being a lifeline to individuals in desperate need as the highest form of service to his beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When anyone asked for help – whether strangers or members of the small congregation in which he and his family actively served – he gave it, no questions asked. He loved people and always saw the good in them. Regardless of their past or present struggles, he always trusted, hoped and persevered in caring for them. Because of his servant’s heart, Nathaniel was respected and admired as an elder in the Church in Sacramento where he volunteered full-time. As a long-time member, Nathaniel earned this informal title so that younger members could go to him for help, assistance and fellowship because of who he was and the life he lived.
Early Years: Nathaniel Kong made headlines the day he was born and the day he died, which was shocking to his friends and family who knew him as a quiet, unassuming, selfless “brother” who lived and died serving others. Nathaniel was born in Sacramento, California on October 14 during the great flood of 1962. The following day, The Sacramento Bee published the story of his birth in an article titled, High Water Makes Baby’s Arrival Unexpected Thriller. Nathaniel grew up in the Swanston Estates neighborhood, attending the Church in Sacramento, and graduated from Norte del Rio High School in 1980.
In College: In college, Nathaniel spent his free time helping to remodel the very church building on Wyda Way where he would lose his life four decades later. In 1984, Nathaniel received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. After graduation, he joined a gospel outreach team in Berkeley, CA, and took Chinese language classes in preparation for the two years he would spend attending an intensive, yet informal, Bible school in Taiwan. When Nathaniel returned to Sacramento in 1988, he enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program at California State University, Sacramento, where he earned his Master’s degree.
Mission Field Abroad: During an eight-year tenure with the California Air Resources Board, Nathaniel met, fell in love with and married the former Wanchi Chen, who was working in a campus ministry in Monterey Park, CA. In 2000, Nathaniel left his job and with their toddler and baby in-tow, the couple moved to Prague, Czech Republic, where they dedicated the next 13 years of their lives to the mission field in Eastern Europe. After Nathaniel and Wanchi’s third child was born in Prague, their last seven years in the Eastern European mission field were spent in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The Last Decade: In 2013, the family of five moved back to Sacramento, where Nathaniel continued his life of service as a full-time volunteer at the Church in Sacramento, shepherding and helping individuals in need in the community he called home. Stories of “Brother Nat’s” compassion and love for and generosity toward people of every imaginable background would fill volumes. His life of service is an inspiration to the family and congregation he left behind. Nathaniel is survived by Wanchi, his loving wife of 27 years, and their three children; his father, Jonathan Kong, a WWII veteran who turned 100 last year; and his siblings, Samuel, Daniel and Joanna.