My Personal Testimony: David Bramwell Powell

I am told I was born at an early age on the 24/09/1953 at Brisbane Queensland Australia in a Salvation Army Hospital. Eighteen years later I was spiritually awakened and re-born at 1am 1/1/1971 at Triumphant Life Fellowship campsite at Keswick Convention Centre Mount Tambourine Queensland Australia. My early religious heritage is that of Salvation Army and Methodist in the main, and I spent the first thirteen years growing up on dairy farms in the South Eastern part of Queensland at Maleny and Cedar Creek Closeburn. (I did spend my first year or two at Kempsy New South Wales on a dairy farm that my parents managed).

My early schooling was; Year 1 – 7 at Closeburn State Primary School and Year 8 was at Mitchelton State High School. Mitchelton is a suburb of Brisbane Qld and (then) about 1 hr drive by bus to the bus stop at Cedar Creek. We had then about a ½ hr drive by car to the farm. It was during that long hour travelling on that old bone shaker Bedford bus that I learnt to wriggle my ears. (Now how ‘bout that for a achievement for a young lad). To get the muscles to move it took quite a lot of concentration, some of which my teachers would have been glad off. I seemed to find a lot of interesting things outside of the class room when I looked out of the window. From grade 1 – 7 at Closeburn I must have shown quite a lot od potential as the Principal gave me lots of extra attention during lunch breaks and sometimes after school. I was one of his testing agents for the flexibility of the 3 foot blackboard ruler. He must have figured that if it didn’t break and send splinters in my “sit-a-pon” then it was probably safe to use on other academically challenged pupils also, as a teaching aid of course. If I remember correctly at High School MR. Perkins was the Principal and Miss Charrington was my class teacher. She tried to teach me French in which I remember excelling gaining 2% in one exam and 22% another. I don’t remember having any more exams. Maybe they thought I had achieved enough or maybe it was them that had had enough!

My family shifted to Beerburrum (yes they took me with them) to work on a “chook” farm. (Geoff and Thel Male owned the farm). I finished my schooling at Caboolture to grade 10 level and I passed!!!!!! From school I took up an apprenticeship in painting and decorating with Dick Gardner and Robin Scott. Dick was a Christian and attended the Caboolture Methodist church in the Caboolture circuit of six churches. We attended the Elimbah Methodist Church just north of Caboolture.

It was while my family and I lived on the dairy farm at Closeburn that we had a little sojourn in a small local Presbyterian Church. This is significant for me because it was in that Church that God told me that I was going to be a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was about 7 or 8 years of age when, one Sunday morning I was looking up at the Minister in the pulpit and God said these words to me “You will be up there one day”. It was like He was standing there with me pointing something out to me. No, there was no audible voice but being such convincing communication as it was it might as well have been. At significant intervals in my life, God has so clearly spoken to me in like manner. Discovering the reality of eternity in that little church was another convincing time with God
. My Dad was the Sunday School Superintendent (I think) and he mentioned, during the open time at the beginning of Sunday school, that if we were not ready for the Lord’s return then we would be swept away into hell. I need at this point to tell you that that revelation did not give me nightmares or cause a great psychological malfunction but convinced me that I needed to do something about the matter. The experience made me take matters of eternity with a humble sense of respect and importance. I simply believed and new it was fact.

A number of years passed by and I know God was with me all the time. I had a sense of moral/spiritual right and wrong. Even as a little boy this ethic was there. Eric one of my friends, who was quite “good” at using colourful words at the time, said to me after an outburst one day, “Oh, sorry you don’t swear do you”. It would be niece if I could say that that was always the case (for me that is). I mention this only to acknowledge God’s influence in my life as a little boy. In my mid to late teens I was to test the patience of God and no less my parents, quite a bit as I struggled through those exciting but topsy-turvy years that human beings grow through. They are years that scare most parents as they watch their children driving in the dodgem-car we call the “Teen Ager”. Those years for me are years I wish I could do an instant edit on but of course I can’t. By God’s grace I am alive to say He kept me.

Well, my parents were no different to most other parents only they traveled in the “Teen-Ager” five times. It is amazing that they lived to see their 70s and are still going to date 1/09/05. Miracles still happen.

During those topsy-turvy years my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was rather dramatic news for most people but I don’t remember it affecting me that way. I don't remember being upset and I believe the reason was that God had spoken to me in a similar way as in the Presbyterian Church. I can remember the exact place and what He said. It was when I was driving home one night, after visiting Dad in hospital and outside the Nerangbah car wreckers just south of Caboolture that God said “he is not going to die yet. He hasn't done enough for me yet”. Later in Bible College I was to learn the principle that nothing will interrupt the Christian's mission in life until God's approval is gained. Remember the story of Job?

Our Church youth group and our family spent quite a lot of time at Mt Tambourine Keswick Convention.

MORE TO COME AS I GET TIME