BIGGEST NEWS!!!!

I'M SERIOUS THIS IS THE BIGGEST NEWS SINCE FREAKING BIG NEWS!!!! 

are you ready? are you really really sure that you're ready? Cuz I don't think you're ready for this jelly.

HARVARD IS STRAIGHT UP MY COUSIN. I KID YOU NOT. HE IS STRAIGHT UP 100% MY COUSIN.

this week was the hardest ever because we found out that we were cousins on Wednesday and I had to wait A WHOLE WEEK TO TELL YOU! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! TALK ABOUT TRIALS.

but seriously, he is. here's the story.

so pretty much Tuesday night he got a dear elder from his mom and it was like, "is sister trussel by chance related to Harold Trussel and Vilate Trussel? because they are my favorite people in the world" and i was like STRAIGHT UP I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING YES THOSE ARE MY STRAIGHT UP GRANDPARENTS!! and so he wrote her back and was like "how do you know sister trussel's grandparents?" and she said that her mom and Vilate are cousins and that grandpa Harold is like her favorite person in the world because he was the principal at a school where she worked and she said that he was like the greatest principal in the world and knew all of the kids names and their hobbies and she just really respects him and she said that Vilate is the biggest spitfire that she has ever met and thinks that she is hilarious and its like I'm not totally sure what spitfire means but I'm assuming its a term of endearment.

AND THEN IT JUST CONTINUES TO GET BETTER. because Harvard said that grandpa Harold was the principal at his high school before he went there and he said that he revolutionized the school,  and it is because of him that Harvard got into Harvard. AND ISN'T THAT JUST SO FUNNY? LIKE I'M TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR  THIS AND ITS LIKE I'M THE REASON THAT HARVARD GOT INTO HARVARD... AND SO IT'S LIKE YOU'RE WELCOME HARVARD. i really hope that you think this is as crazy as i do. i literally freak out on the daily.

he was sick for a few days but when he came back to class i made us sing families can be together forever and i stood by him during it and he acted like it was weird but i could tell that he liked it.

anyways so our cousinship has really brought us together. we are pretty much best friends now....
that is an extreme exaggeration. by best friends i mean every once in a while he will say "como esta minha prima?" which means how is my cousin? and i say good and that's about it. but i really sense a connection. and the best part is that we are 3rd cousins so that means that were close enough to stay best friends forever but still far away enough related that we can get married for time and all eternity if we so choose. it really is the best of both worlds.

anyways tell grandma and grandpa thanks and have them call Becky Larkin in salt lake city (Harvards mom) so they too can enjoy the blessings of freaking out about this. I'm literally freaking out. ALL THE FREAKING TIME. mom is probably so mad that i keep using the word freaking but its like honestly mom, its justified in this scenario.

okeee so sorry that i spent like half of my email time talking about my cousin Harvard.... but i regret nothing.

anyways, lets get do it! shall we?

this week was goooood!  actually I remember nothing that happened this week but I'm assuming that it went well.

OH YEAH I GOT MY VISA.

just kidding. i didn't. i also didn't get my reassignment. i will most likely get it Friday and be able to email you about it. but worst case scenario, i will have to stay an extra week at the MTC and get it next Friday.

i cant believe that this is my last week. its super bittersweet. I'm going to miss everyone so much. especially irmao Hickman. he is our teacher. and he is just the best. like one of the greatest humans I've ever had the privilege to know. he has been such a great mentor and support and teacher this whole time and I'm going to miss him the most i think.

oh mommy i threw up on Wednesday. i think it was something that i ate because after i threw up i felt fine but i made my companion take a picture of me with the throw up because i wanted to show you that i miss you when I'm sick. so i started feeling really sick so we came back to the residence and i lied down and immediately started puking into the garbage. and my companion just stood there and then i was like oh I'm sorry and shes like "its fine" and I'm like "...OH IS IT FINE!?! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACCEPTANCE THAT ME PUKING IS FINE" except for i didn't because i am trying to be like Jesus and so i was like thanks and then i stood up and emptied my own puke into the garbage outside and then i felt fine and working on my charity and patience virtues.

we got to host the new missionaries this week. this pretty much means that when the missionaries get dropped off their curb and kiss life as they know it goodbye we are the ones to pick them up and take them to their class and whatnot. it was a cool experience except for there were way too many sisters hosting and not enough sisters to be hosted and so every time i car pulled up it was like straight up the hunger games to get to them. i literally had to punch a girl in the face. just kidding. but it really was intense. anyways i saw Brady Johnston getting dropped off and so i like ran to his family to talk to them but half of them had no idea who i was and the other half were like "are you kidding me? we are sending our first born son to his death. we want nothing to do with you at this moment" they didn't say that they were really sweet but i felt really bad afterwards that i like interrupted that moment for them. i wasn't thinking. mom call sister Johnston and tell her that I'm sorry for ruining her life and cramming 11 cookies into the VCR. #namethatmovie but seriously mom call her and apologize for me.

we went to the temple today. it was great. i really like the new video. however, only the Mormons can make a new video and still have it feel 10 years outdated. but i really liked it a lot and it was good to go. the entire time though i was just thinking of Tyler Rands and i just kept thinking about how much I'm sure that Jesus loves Tyler. Tell that man i miss him.

i saw cousin Matt (Kim's son, literally what is his last name, i feel very strange that i don't know it) on the mormon.org I'm a Mormon video (about the rugby coach )eating dinner with his parents in law. it was such a sweet moment. i even pulled it up on the big screen and paused it on Matt and made everyone look and then they were like "no one cares" but i chose to ignore them and told them all about how Matt draws me pictures and that one time that we watched that cheesy lifetime original movie called "dying to dance" or something cheesy like that. they didn't act like it but i knew that the district liked it. also i don't know if it was Matt. but i really hope it was or i would have just wasted 25 minutes of my district's time for nothing.

our lessons have been really hit and miss. it doesn't really help that my comp really struggles with the language. its slightly discouraging because i think i just came here thinking that i was going to be the best missionary int he world but then I'm not and its just hard to not feel like you're measuring up. but some of them go really well. the other thing is that i feel so comforted all of the time here. and that's the reason that i just want everyone to understand the gospel. because even in my hardest times here i just totally feel the love of Christ comforting me and really hard things become so much easier and i just know that I'm not doing them alone.

except for learning Portuguese. learning Portuguese is still the worst of all trials and can never be lessened.

um que mais? nao sei. oh yeah I'm so hecka much jealous that everyone is at the family reunion. i want to be there. i hope that you seriously have no fun without me and can come to the knowledge that i really am the only source of joy in your lives. because sometimes i felt like you guys took that for granted. i was a really really really fun person. appreciate me more. in other news i am also working on humility as a virtue. i miss everything about the family reunion, not like homesick miss, more of like i think about it occasionally and then stare into the distance all the while quietly chuckling to myself pensively. like when joey helped me cheat every round of poker. good times. i still cheat at all of our games here. i also don't feel guilty about it ever. is that a problem? anyways i just love our family so much even though they are straight up psychotic they are all so prime. tell them i think that, not the psychotic part just the prime part. also tell them to stop fighting. then tell them about my comp. and the toilets and the puke if i can be loving about that then they can be loving to each other.

and don't worry mom. your kids will never fight because once you die i will straight up start a tyrannical regime over the kids and if any of the siblings try to rise up against me I will pummel them into the ground with my fist. it will be forced peace, but peace nonetheless. you're welcome. I'm always looking out for you.

mom can you some how check to see how my visa is coming. i haven't heard of a single person getting theirs from San Francisco and I'm really sad about it. i want to go to BRAZIL and drive fast cars there and rob a police station like in fast and furious 5. because that is what missions are all about are they not? i don't know how exactly to check on tat but like call someone or google something or make dad do it. i have faith in you. i really need to know if ill ever get there. ill be really sad if i dont i think. can you guys pray for my visa tambem? I JUST REALLY WANT IT IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!?

grandpa truman-dictate a letter to mom today. you can skip your tennis watching today and make mckenna and macey do the chores around the house. tennis is literally just 2 people hitting a ball back and forth, you wont miss much. and the whole reason that we have kids is to make them do our work for us. so sit back and relax and respond to my letter please. i love you. hope your back is feeling better and the grand kids aren't driving you crazy. i know it must be hard for you without having your favorite granddaughter there to keep you sane but you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. I love you more than life you re my family person in the world but if you don't write me back today you will be dead to me. love you much!!!

mommy- mommy you're the best of all mommies. you have been so good at writing me and it has been such a blessing i swear. thanks for that. also hopefully your packages get here by Friday because if i get my reassignment i could leave as early as Saturday. weird. also if i get reassigned to not anywhere in Utah i will be able to call you on the phone next week! how strange. but I'm excited. i think. i think it is going to be weird. what are we even going to talk about? maybe this would be a good time for you to use those conversation cards you bought for the dinner table "what is your favorite season and why" "if you could be any tree what kind of tree would you be?" "what is your favorite memory in the kitchen" we can ask awkward questions like that to lessen the mood. anyways love you so much. please check on my visa some how.

dad-you're killing me. as humorous as your letters are they are few and far between also the longest letter you have sent me was like 12 words long. since he wont tell you what he writes this is what i have gotten from dad so far "dear ashlyn, rock it. love dad" "dear ashlyn, bear lake is 43% less fun without you. but don't come home. love dad" at this point I'm so desperate to know what is going on in your life that i will accept a sample letter that you have copied and pasted from the Internet. work with me here. i miss you a lot and i hope that everything is going well with work and sleeping and your remote control helicopter and all of the other things that you love in you life. i sent you a letter last week hope you got it.

Paige- babe, got your letter. it was a little rude and attacking but i appreciated the sentiment. i don't have emotional issues. your mom has emotional issues. JK shes a saint and has beautiful eyes. I'm writing you today. please get on Katie. she is hurting me feelings

Jon Rands. you are straight up the funniest man alive. you letter killed me. i literally keep it in my purse at all times and read it like 6 times a day because it is just so dang prime. everything about it is prime. you're the best and i love you. also my companion is 19. no excuse. have fun golfing. don't work too hard out there.

Heidi and Kim. oh my dear beloved aunts, I'm so sorry please don't make me dead to you. i seriously loved both of your emails and it was just hard and stressful the first week and i forgot a ton of people because the email time is literally the most stressful thing of my life. but i love you so much and you're the best and please don't disown me i promise i love you so much. i will write you more during letter time. also i think that Ron sent me a dear elder but the computer is being difficult so i cant read it but ill try again later on another computer

Rachel and Katelyn-i only have 60 seconds more on the comp but i love you both your letters make my day I'm sorry i will write you more later today okay?!!

I LOVE YOU ALL HAVE GREAT DAYS AND LIVES AND WHAT NOT

Sister Trussel