You’re never going to guess where my younger sister, Kristen, is at this very moment. If you guessed anywhere in the United States you’d be wrong. My sis is currently in Kitale, Kenya. Yes. You read that right. Africa. Pardon my mouth as I say, “Holy crap!”

You see my sis is the antithesis of me and she is such a dedicated activist with causes she believes in. She’s the mother of a son with Down’s Syndrome, who was also recently diagnosed with Tethered Cord Syndrome and autism (PDD-NOS). He’s in remission for leukemia and, oh, did I mention she has rheumatoid arthritis? Yeah, she’s like that Unsinkable Molly Brown character who just won’t be stopped no matter what is thrown in her path. (Although she has asked God to stop testing her strength because she’s about had it. Can you blame her?) Anyway, so at church (another huge diff between me and her) she learns about the plight of these poor African children who are sold into slavery and prostitution because their parents have died or abandoned them and apparently, there’s this school that takes in these poor children and it just so happens that her church was sponsoring a mission trip to that very region. Well, I guess my sister decided she didn’t have enough on her plate already and started raising money to go to Africa to do her part for these poor children. Wow. I mean, wow. I’m floored. And, I’ll admit, a little bewildered. Seems a long way to go to satisfy a humanitarian urge. But, more power to her. The world needs more people like her and probably less people like me who tend to get a little distracted by meaningless things in life. I consider myself a good person but, hot damn, my sister makes me feel like a total slacker. I know, it’s not about me or my competitive nature so I will just say, kudos to you Kristen for being such a warm-hearted, giving person. The world is certainly a better place for you being in it.

And in honor of my sister’s humanitarian journey to the other side of the world, I’ve decided to give away more books! This time, since I don’t have any new releases coming until next year (egad!) I will just reach into my RWA goody back and pull out something lovely for whomever wins this time around.

Tell me what you do to make the world a better place? Perhaps it’s volunteering in your child’s school or simply recycling or maybe you’re like my sister and you travel across the globe administering wholesome goodness in the form of sandwiches and vaccines to third world countries. Dunno. You tell me. I’m curious. Truly.

Kimberly