Como estan amigos?

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Happy Halloween!

Weeks here just go by faster and faster! It's hard to think it has only been a week since I was sitting in the MTC laundry room writing doing what I'm doing right now. I have been doing really really good! Our whole district has been trying to speak Spanish more at all times rather than just in class. They tell us to do this thing called Hable Su Idioma (Speak your language) where you try your best to say what you want to say in Spanish first and then if you have no idea you can say, "Permite me hablar in Ingles? (Will you allow me to speak in English?"). It's really helping a ton, but a lot of the time I forget. Like my wise friend, Glen Reber, told me, "The last half of your time at the MTC can be the part where you learn the most or learn the least depending on how much you push yourself". Or something like that. Well just from last week I can tell you that it's working! I'd say that this last week has been the time where I have learned and progressed the most. Here's hoping for next week to be even better!
On Sunday we had an awesome Devotional where Elder Clarke of the Seventy came and said that our purpose is to help people to come to Christ rather than just telling them to do stuff. He said we need to help people read the Book of Mormon (because no one can be truly converted without it), to help them pray and have their own spiritual experiences without us (because what happens when we leave?), to help them actually keep commitments, to help find lost sheep (inactive members and recent converts that aren't as strong now), and tons of others I can't perfectly remember. Elder Clarke helped us remember that the worth of every soul is great in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and that He loves everyone more than any of us can ever imagine and we need to try to have the same love for them. This means actually caring if they keep commitments and how they and their family are doing rather than just checking them off the list. He told a story of how this one recent convert had the missionaries over the night before and that they haven't asked where she was in the Book of Mormon since she was baptized. I don't know about you, but that's just wrong! We aren't just using people for a baptismal statistic! This is the eternal salvation of people's lives we're talking about! I'm going to try my best to not see how people are right now, but how great they can become with my help and to actually care how they are doing both before and after baptism.
Other than that, me and my comp are doing a lot better. I started not to let all the little things he does bother me. I used to get annoyed at something as small has him saying "listo? (ready?)" so much even though it was obvious that I wasn't ready yet because I didn't have any pants on. Now I just brush it off and try my best not to let it affect me. We are talking a lot more and are lessons are getting a lot better so we can teach from the Spirit more which is what really matters.
I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! Nothing happened here besides people getting Halloween treat packages (THANKS DAD!) and new missionaries getting here. Wouldn't it kindof stink to come the the MTC on Halloween? I'm so glad I came when I did. The weather is nice and fresco (cool). I'm so glad the snow only lasted a couple days because I didn't want to miss my last chance at autumn for two years.
Thanks everyone for all your letters! Let me know how you're doin!
Love,
       Elder Shurtliff