BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – From chasing just about every skirt in town to now chasing after only God, he has been walking the ‘straight and narrow’ since he was saved in May 2009.
Dave Osbourne, a businessman and owner of a barber shop for several years spoke exclusively with SKNVibes. Osbourne, an artiste began his career singing dancehall but later transitioned to calypso assuming the stage name of ‘Hooligan’. Now a born again Christian, Osbourne goes by the name of the Devil’s Trampler and says he is using his talent only in serving the Lord.
According to Osbourne, the about turn in his life occurred upon realizing that he was advancing in age and that a number of changes through he was going prompted him to attend church ‘every now and again.’ Thinking about life then became one of Osbourne’s preoccupation, very often engaging in deep soul searching, asking “what if I should die now?” a question which he could not shake and which gave rise to him slowly considering giving his heart to the lord.
“I was between if and but all the time because when you in the world and you have a lot of women there are certain things you don’t want to let go but I was still going to church” he said.
The Devil’s Trampler gave a detailed account of the events which brought him into close union with his Maker, explaining that it all began one night when an African female friend invited him to a crusade which Pastor Bishop Hall out of Jamaica was conducting “but all I did was drop her off and left but the second night I dropped her off again and she kept begging me to stay. As I was driving off, I started talking to myself saying, Lord you know I don’t want to be a normal everyday Christian, if I am going to serve you I want to be able to heal people and cast out demons and be a deliverer.”
Osbourne said after he had given careful consideration to his options, he decided to join the congregation assembled for the crusade. He took a seat and began participating, singing and clapping but secretly looking at women “although I was invited by one.” He admitted however, that the message from the Pastor gripped his attention as he was sitting there.
Osbourne recalled, “Church was about to finish and the Pastor did an altar call and said he wanted everybody to come up. "People started to get up and go but I didn’t. The Pastor said there is a young man I am looking for, he is sitting in the crowd and I am not going to close this altar call until he comes up.”
According to Osbourne, he remained in his seat while the Pastor repeated himself, apparently waiting for the ‘young man’ to approach the altar. Osbourne remembers clearly that while he remained seated, several other men began pressing forward in response to the altar call but he remained stubbornly anchored to his chair, refusing to budge, talking to himself “not me, me nar move, me no come for that. That is when I felt something move inside me and say “Get Up”.
“I then said to myself ‘wha dis’ am not ready for this; I slowly got up took my time and ease through the crowd very sneakily where the Pastor could not see me. I then stood up behind a lot of people but he spotted me out and said, “The young man I am waiting for is at the altar now.”
The Pastor, according to Osbourne’s recollection of the life changing event that night, focussed his attention on him and stated “Young man in the white shirt I have been waiting on you for a long long time. God has been searching for you for seven years now. You should have been dead a long time but God kept you alive because you are supposed to be a minister and Pastor of the gospel.”
The Pastor then proceeded to inform Osbourne that God is going to use him but that he should not get too churchy. “Stay radical!” “You are a real revolutionist, you are going to free people, you are a liberator, I see you with a flaming sword in your hands running through the land and I see a guy in handcuffs and your pulling them off” the Pastor continued.
The Devil’s Trampler said, the Pastor then instructed the wife of the local pastor who was responsible for inviting Hall to St. Kitts for the crusade to place her hand on his belly while he called down the Power of God upon him.
“God I want you to use this young man, drop Your Power on this young man and turn him from Saul to Paul” the Bishop prayed.
Osbourne continued, “Then I just felt something hit me and I just started to fall down and scream, it felt like someone was tearing me open and my insides were coming out. After which I felt brand new like somebody had planted something new inside me and I immediately started speaking in tongues and in different languages. I had no idea what was going on but I could not control myself” said the new believer in Christ.
As Osbourne recounted his story, he spoke about the experience while lying on the ground kicking and screaming for more than two hours and of seeing demons leaving his body. He said, even after church had ended,he was still on the ground but as he made his way up, he was still speaking in tongues and when he eventually opened his spiritual eyes he began to see things in the spiritual realm and saw spirits in his house.
“Immediately I started running, I ran from the play field up at Taylors Range where the Crusade was to my home. I opened all the doors rushed into my sons’ room and started to rebuke the spirits out my house. When I was finished I started to calm down then from that day on I became a fire man for God. I don’t play when it comes to the work of the lord; I am full time in the work of God. Since then I have closed down one my businesses (the Lingerie Shop) and have been working for God and it’s great.”
Osbourne said since he started singing gospel music he has been taking the message in song around the Caribbean and has produced an album which he hopes to release soon.
The Devil’s Trampler told SKNVibes that ‘Rooted And Grounded’ is one of his hit songs which has been taking the region by storm and that another track ‘Stand Up And Come,’ a revolutionary song which he says encourages people to stand up for God.
The artiste who has transitioned from dancehall to calypso and now a full time gospel singer said he is sorry he did not find God a long time ago but nothing happens before it’s time.
“My aim and desire is to be the best that I can be for God and do His work and let people know that there is a God to praise.”
Osbourne concluded by s urging everyone to view themselves carefully and to think about where they would go if they should die. People have to realize God is real and to get rooted and grounded for him.
Dave Osbourne is now a member of the Pentecostal Harvest Church located at Needsmust. For more about him visit his website at www.devilstrampler.com or email him at juniorosbourne@msn.com.
click on link to see the night Osbourne got saved- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUoaYToR8I&feature=related
