One of the things that is very important to me is charity. I feel like it is so important for those of us who are the "haves" in this world to share what we can with the "have nots". There are so many people in this world who are good, hard-working people who are just trying to provide a bare, basic living for themselves and their children.

I know that sometimes we fuss and fret because we can't afford the latest do-dad or can't pay off the credit card bills for all the "gar-bage" we've indulged ourselves with, but really, if you have plenty to eat, healthy children, and even a little change in a piggy bank somewhere, you are better off than about half of the people in this world. Seriously.

I think what brought this into reality for me is my penpal in Kenya. Our church has partnered with a church in Kenya for many years and at one point, some of us were matched up with penpals in the church. My penpal is a woman named Edith. She is in her mid-30's and she is a recent widow with 7 children. She is the sweetest person and has very strong faith, despite her difficulties and struggles. They literally live in a mud hut with a tin roof, along with her grandmother or mother-in-law (I'm not quite sure). We've been penpals for about 2 years and it's been an amazing relationship.

When you hear stories like that, it's easy to feel sorry for them and feel helpless about ways to help them, but it doesn't have to be like that. Some of the people in our church went over there for a visit last year and it was surprising. These people are joyful and happy. They have great relationships with their families, and great faith in God, despite their daily challenges. They love to sing and dance and their church services are almost rowdy compared to ours. They love a good joke and they enjoy their children tremendously and they are SO grateful for the slightest kindness. Their children are also amazingly well behaved. Some of the people from the trip suggested we send a few of our kids over there for a couple of months! (Hey, I'm game!)

With the power of the Internet, there have been some great ways to help people like this without a lot of hassle and red tape. I've been a long-time supporter of a charity called the Heifer Project. They have a way to buy farm animals for poor families. The thing I think is awesome is that they give each family the dignity of giving the first female offspring to another family as a way to perpetuate the project. So the gift of one animal can end up helping a whole village worth of people over the space of a decade or so. They start with baby chicks at about $15 and go up to a cow for $500. Heifer.org is their website.

Kiva is another very cool website. There's been a lot of buzz about microloans and this is an easy way to get involved with them. People in poor countries can post an application for a loan for anywhere from $50 to $1500, usually for business improvements. You can read all about the individuals and the businesses and choose the ones you want to give the loan to starting in increments of $25 or more. They have a surprising 97% or something percent payback rate. I think that's amazing! I'll bet no American bank has ever had a payback rate like that. The nice thing is that at the end of the payback period - usually 6 to 12 months, you get your money back. Then you can either decide to lend it to someone else, or you can take it back for yourself. I've got a couple of loans going now and I just made another one today to a mother in Ecuador who wants to expand her dress shop. Their website is Kiva.org.

If you're looking for something a bit closer to home, I found a website where you can help local teachers. Very cool! If a teacher has a special project she wants to do with her class, she can go to this website and post a funding request. Then people donate the money and the kids get the stuff. A lot of them are for musical programs, or special ways to teach math or english skills. You can select by age range, geography, or type of program. Try DonorChoose.org.

So, I hope you'll give it a try. Just think of how well you'll sleep tonight by putting some positive action into the world.