Letter from the First Lady

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all enjoying your summer!

I have some very exciting news to share...

On April 21^st, 2014, I sent a letter to the First Lady to ask for her thoughts and advice on the Love Our Troops Letter Project.

This week, on August 4^th, 2014, I received a response from the First Lady Michelle Obama!

Mrs. Obama’s letter has been an amazing blessing. I feel very blessed that the First Lady, who receives thousands of letters and emails every month, took the time to read and respond to my letter.

I am not only elated by this kind response, but I am also heartened by it as well. Allow me to explain.

In addition to sending a letter to the First Lady, I have sent many letters to local schools and other institutions in the hopes of starting local veteran letter appreciation projects. However, out of my many attempts, I have only received one response from a school; only to be told later that the school would not be able to integrate the project into their curriculum because they were too busy with end of semester testing.

As one may infer, this lack of response was discouraging for me. That is why the First Lady’s kind response meant so much to me.

When I initially started this project when I was fourteen, I had a dream of growing this letter project to national levels…and I still do. However, now that I am seventeen, I have learned that grassroots efforts take time and diligence to grow, and that having patience, positivity, and perseverance is essential.

Although this project is still small, I am very optimistic for its future. I believe in this endeavor, and I am grateful for each letter that I am able to mail to our very deserving troops.

I encourage you to visit and to join along with me, the First Lady’s and Dr. Jill Biden’s initiative: Joining Forces. (www.JoiningForces.gov)

Thank you very much for your kind support and consideration, and may God Bless you and your family always!

Jonathan A. Lu