This week was a good week.  I think our Sacrament meeting attendance hit the highest it has been this year.  I know it's the highest I've seen it since I arrived. 197 It almost seemed like a fluke because last week was the lowest I've seen since I got to LIngayen.  I think that last week was more of a fluke than this week.  

    We are doing our part, and it is so exciting to see people coming to church.  One of my first weeks I was here I remember having one person in our Gospel Principles class.  I can remember thinking 'What am I going to tell the Gospel Principles teacher if next week no one comes."  Well now we are having 15-20 people every Sunday in our Gospel Principles classes.  It is pretty exciting for us.  It's a pretty good mix between returning members and investigators.  

    Last week was the Primary Program here, except they don't understand what a program is... I asked the Primary President before church how her preparation for the program was and she told me they didn't make programs they were just going to sing.  Then she asked me about 5 times she needed to go make a program.  I didn't know how to explain that a program and presentation were the same thing.  It was good though.  They sang and did a great job.  What was funny to me was that we had a 9 and a 10 year old investigator in the presentation.  They quoted scriptures and participated.  It's fun when investigators just become part of the ward.  We have some other teenage investigators that have parts in the nativity that the ward will do for the Christmas Party.  

      We have a lot of great investigators right now.  To be honest it seems like when I get to areas they are not doing to well, but then when I am getting ready to leave they are prospering.  We have several families that are coming back to church.  We are doing well at getting Fathers to come to church as well.  Fathers and men tend to be the hardest to convert, but right now they are coming back.  God has really touched Lingayen.  The evidence is here.  We have so many people keeping commitments right now.  So many members coming back to church.  Yesterday we found a Returned missionary that had drifted less active.  We talked about their mission and helped them remember the Gospel.  This is really a great area

Have a good week, keep your head up, and smile.
                                                                           Elder Nathaniel J. Merrill