There’s a song I love on Christian radio that has a story
behind it about a college aged girl who went to Uganda on a mission trip and ended up
staying because she saw a need and felt God’s calling on her life to do
something about it. Hence the name of the song. If you would like to see her
story and hear the song here is the link to Matthew West’s website.
http://matthewwest.com/the-stories/the-story-do-something/
The Lyrics they are here:
Matthew
West-Do Something
"Do
Something"
I
woke up this morning
Saw
a world full of trouble now
Thought,
how’d we ever get so far down
How’s
it ever gonna turn around
So
I turned my eyes to Heaven
I
thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well,
I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People
living in poverty
Children
sold into slavery
The
thought disgusted me
So,
I shook my fist at Heaven
Said,
“God, why don’t You do something?”
He
said, “I did, I created you”
(chorus)
If not us, then who
If
not me and you
Right
now, it’s time for us to do something
If
not now, then when
Will
we see an end
To
all this pain
It’s
not enough to do nothing
It’s
time for us to do something
I’m
so tired of talking
About
how we are God’s hands and feet
But
it’s easier to say than to be
Live
like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s
alright, “somebody else will do something”
Well,
I don’t know about you
But
I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I
don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I
wanna be the one who stands up and says,
“I’m
gonna do something”
Chorus
We
are the salt of the earth
We
are a city on a hill (shine shine, shine shine)
But
we’re never gonna change the world
By
standing still
No
we won’t stand still
No
we won’t stand still
No
we won’t stand still
If
not us, then who
If
not me and you
Right
now, it’s time for us to do something
If
not now, then when
Will
we see an end
To
all this pain
It’s
not enough to do nothing
It’s
time for us to do something [x3]
All my
life I have seen and had a deep compassion in my heart for those in the world
who were less fortunate or suffering. As a child my mother would tell me to
finish all the food on my plate “because there are starving children in
Africa”. I would dutifully eat every last morsel. Or she would make me stay
there till I did. I felt bad for those hungry kids because right before supper
time I would be soooooo hungry and my mom would NOT give in to my dramatic
pleas for a snack to tide me over. It would “ruin my appetite” she said. Of
course she was right. I would have
left something on my plate for the sake of the African children if I were
allowed to though. But how would we get what was left all the way to Africa? And ewe! would they even want it by the time it arrived there? I actually
pondered this stuff as a kid.
I was
educated in Catholic schools most of my school years and from an early age I
attended Catechism classes every Monday night (7pm sharp- some things ya never
forget). We learned about caring for others. We cleaned houses owned by the
elderly in our church. We organized street clean up days. We studied handouts
about mission work in the world and caring for the sick. (I became a nurse in
1990). In school we would have in-services where we would gather in the musty basement
of the school, sit cross-legged on the floor and watch hours (it seemed) of
reel-to-reel movies of Mother Theresa caring for the Lepers in Bangladesh. I
understood human suffering at 6 years old. It’s the age I remember feeling
compassion in my heart. I didn’t understand what Leprosy was until later but
even at a young age I knew it was my duty to also DO SOMETHING.
Now I
am older. I still eat everything off my plate, much to my defeat in ‘successful
dieting’. (Thanks a lot mom!) I
spent 17 years as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Most of those years I worked in
Geriatric nursing but later as a Hospice Nurse. In those years, I was diagnosed
with 2 autoimmune diseases, each of which there is no known cause and no known
cure. First it was Rheumatoid Arthritis and then 10 years later Systemic Lupus.
I worked for years as a nurse who relieved the suffering of others WHILE I was
suffering myself. In 2004 I was diagnosed Stage 3 Lupus Nephritis (kidney
failure). I was forced to give up my beloved career helping others. I didn’t
know it then but God had way better plans for me.
In the
first years of not working it was difficult and lonely. I was a full time sick person. It was
my ‘job’ now to get to all my doctor and physical therapy appointments (I had
SEVEN specialists caring for me altogether) and to keep track of 18 medications
a day and several injections a month. The pharmacists knew me well. In between
all that I was pretty much in bed. Both diseases cause extreme fatigue and
excruciating joint and muscle pain.
I would
spend most my time watching television or being online. I would read and study my
Bible, something as a working mother, wife and nurse I admit I didn’t have time
to do but I missed. God gave me all the time in the world now. I became a
member at a Christian website and started meeting people from all over the
world. I had seen on the news the suffering of people in other countries, but
now I was actually talking to the very people who lived it. My compassionate
nature was once again sparked. I needed to DO SOMETHING.
I met
my first Ugandan in 2009, 5 years into my new career as a full time sick
person. He was a young man working in an internet café who was an orphan and
also had Polio since age 6. He was the most sincere, humble, respectful person
I’d met. He was good and kind and though struggling to survive himself told me
that one day he wanted to help poor children from his village. I thought to
myself, “but you ARE the poor child from your village!” He saw it differently.
He had a job. No decent shoes, or a bed, but he was thankful he had a job. I
bought him shoes and a bed and an Internet Cafe of his own. I did more for
others there and in neighboring Kenya as I could.
It is
now 2014. Since then, I have met so many people around the world. A lot in under-developed and oppressed nations. The Internet has
made the world not so big anymore. I feel the pain and fear in the words
written to me by my friends around the world on my Facebook messenger or
Christian websites. I see the news
stories almost as soon as they happen; Rape being used as
weapon of war in the Congo; Corrupted and ruthless dictators (North Korea);
People fighting for freedom from tyranny and dying in the streets (Libya,
Egypt, Ukraine, Ivory Coast). My heart cries. There are SO many stories of
suffering. So many battles of need. So many inhumane injustices uncorrected.
HIV/AIDS (period) Sooooo, sooooo many orphans. Children working all day in
brick-making yards, sold into slavery for a $100 debt made to a cruel man by
the parents before they were born. The needs in the world are overwhelming.
Which brings me back to Matthew West’s song and the girl who stayed to help in
Uganda.
“If not
me and you, then who? If not now, then when?” In all my years of Catechism
classes, Mother Theresa documentaries and reading my Bible did I ever think
that it was all up to just God. I
knew as a Christian and a human being that it was up to ME. I am grateful for so many who know
this too and give money or time and efforts to help our fellow men, women and
children in the world. But I say to anyone who may be reading, that if you see
something wrong in this world, you can react. Don’t think ‘I can never do
enough so I just wont do anything’. “It’s not enough to do nothing” Matthew
sings. Or ‘how can I trust my money to a person or organization when I don’t
REALLY know they are legit’. Find out if they are. Please have discernment not
apathy.
Mother
Theresa said “If you cannot feed the masses, feed just one”. Please. If only
everyone fed just one. There are 7 billion people on our planet. It produces
enough food to feed all 7 billion. There are 2.6 million children who DIE every
year from hunger related illnesses. Please. We are never going to change the
world by standing still. I want to always be one who stands up and says I can
do something. No matter how little I have to share, I still have more than
someone else. In 2013, even with 2 incurable diseases and not much extra money
after my plane ticket cost, I had the privilege to go to Uganda East Africa. I
saw. I went. I helped. I am going back.
PLEASE......... IT’S TIME........ DO SOMETHING.........
No
we won’t stand still
No
we won’t stand still
No
we won’t stand still
If
not us, then who
If
not me and you
Right
now, it’s time for us to do something
If
not now, then when
Will
we see an end
To
all this pain
It’s
not enough to do nothing
It’s
time for us to do something
Note: If anyone wants to do
something and is not sure where or how, I can recommend a list of organizations,
churches and individuals in various countries ( Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, DRC, Ghana, Burundi and India) that I have known personally and
can verify they are doing great things to help others!
Thanks!
Cheryl Derby- Co-founder and Co-director of Many Mansions of Christ International-Uganda
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And Kasemengo Chrispus also in primary:
Their school needs have been fully met through Brother in Christ ministry.
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His mother pays for part of the fees. Masaba has health complications and need our prayers and further support.