Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead
As Christ sent his disciples to work, he gave them the admonition to "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead [and] and cast out devils." (Matthew 10:8)
As I was writing, Your Mark On The World, I had occasion to visit with David Ostler, the executive director of Rising Star Outreach. While I didn't profile him personally at length in the book, I certainly should have.
David walked away from his corporate career while he was still young and healthy enough to really do some good in the world. He serves as the executive director of Rising Star on a volunteer basis. His full time effort living in India is devoted to healing the sick and cleansing the lepers. Literally.
Rising Star is charitable organization that serves rural villages impacted by leprosy in India. It was founded by Becky Douglas, who is now serving with her husband John Douglas who is assigned as an LDS mission president in the Dominican Republic.
David left his position as a division President with a global health company to live in rural India where he serves the poorest of the poor in a fashion that would please Mother Teresa. With his wife, David lives and works full time at:
running the school for children impacted by leprosy (generally they are children or grand children of lepers),
managing the mobile clinics that visit the leper colonies to care for those who suffer from the effects of leprosy and
coordinating the outreach program providing micro loans to entrepreneurs approved by local community councils.
On a personal level, I was particularly struck by David's selfless service in the same way that a college baseball player might react to finding someone his age playing in the major leagues. I was, I suppose, a little envious of the courage and character that allowed him to make this choice to serve.
My hat is off to you, David.
Let's do some good!
By Devin D. Thorpe