Change of address

Bruce and Trish Mataki have been virtually inseparable since the day they first met while serving in the New Zealand Army, 32 years ago.

They’ve been married for 31 years, and during that time have gradually built a secure future for themselves and their whanau as public servants and successful farmers.

Now retired, the Matakis are about to embark further into their life journey together by heading off to The Salvation Army’s Booth College of Mission in Upper Hutt. It’s an understatement to say that this will be a big lifestyle change, as the pair pursues what they believe God has called them to do—to train as Salvation Army officers (ministers).

Differing spiritual paths

Despite Bruce and Trish doing almost everything together over the past three decades, they’ve come from very different spiritual walks of life.

Before joining The Salvation Army, Bruce was heavily involved in the Ratana Church, an indigenous Maori church, for most of his life. This was a positive environment where he always felt the presence of God and where the values of the Pukapuka Hahi (Ratana Church Bible) were central.

Yet, despite having the Bible taught to him left, right and centre, Bruce admits it wasn’t something he ever delved into for himself. In fact, he didn’t have much of an interest in non-Maori translations of the Bible until late last year when a sudden curiosity grew within him during the visit of a close family member.

Bruce’s sister Awhina, a soldier of The Salvation Army’s Papakura Corps (church), came to stay with the Matakis for a while. During her stay, Awhina would be up at the crack of dawn to read her Bible, something that immediately caught Bruce’s eye.

‘With the lights on so early every morning and me wondering what Awhina was reading, I ended up getting really interested,’ Bruce recalls. ‘So one morning I got up and asked her, “What are you doing?” She explained to me that I wouldn’t understand because I wasn’t a born-again Christian. That’s what really got me interested! After that, I was keen to find out what The Salvation Army and the Lord were about.’

Having received some teaching about Jesus from his sister, Bruce began to see what a true relationship with the Lord could mean. Ultimately, he ended up praying and asking Jesus to take charge in his life, following Awhina’s gentle but persuasive example.

‘A lot of things changed for me with my sister coming here,’ explains Bruce. ‘I found that she was so knowledgeable in the Bible that I just couldn’t fault what she was saying. And, of course, the Bible doesn’t have any faults. I’ve since come to understand that, and have really grown as a result of my fresh understanding of its words.’

Bruce may have found his way to the Lord through the help and wisdom of his sister, but it wasn’t the same for Trish. She had a strong Catholic background but had never had put her faith in Jesus Christ to save her from her sins. Trish felt that simply being part of the Catholic Church was enough to get her into Heaven, without anything more on her part.

However, that all changed in a flash during a Salvation Army church service earlier this year. Because Bruce had joined The Salvation Army Papakura Corps after becoming a Christian, Trish followed him there. She says it was important for her as a Maori woman to support her husband. It didn’t take long for Trish to start helping out with the many things that were happening at the corps, such as the food bank, assisting clients and attending church activities. But despite this busyness, Trish was surprised when God called her to reach out for him one Sunday.

‘I remember the day very clearly,’ she Trish. ‘It was Sunday, February the 19th, and I was helping on the sound desk at the time. Our leaders, Lieutenants Steve and Nicki Dutton, started to ask people to think about whether they were right with God. They then invited people up to pray and to give themselves to the Lord. All of a sudden, something compelled me to get up and go to the front. It was like the Lord was saying to me, “Get up, you need to come here!” ’

Trish responded and from that day, she has never looked back, saying how grateful is that she found her way to peace with God through The Salvation Army.

‘Coming from a strong family of Catholic faith, I never ever saw myself as needing to be saved—I already believed I was fully covered. But I’ve found that my coming to Christianity in The Salvation Army is strong and right. It has also come with a good understanding of the Bible, which I am very thankful for.’

Swift transitions

God’s work in Bruce and Trish’s lives has been nothing less than mind-boggling. They are rapidly closing one particularly new chapter in their book of life even as they swiftly open another.

Bruce has been a soldier in The Salvation Army for a little over a year, while Trish has been part of the Army for six months. This is unusual but not unprecedented.

And so now they’re on their way to Booth College to train to become ministers in The Salvation Army. ‘It’s been a really quick journey,’ Trish admits. ‘We’ve had people say to us, “Wow, you’ve only just become soldiers, and now you’re going off to Booth College!” And that’s what amazes me, too. But none of us has control over when the Lord is going to say, “Come.” ’

The couple confesses though, that they have at times been puzzled about why God has called them to full-time ministry after only being soldiers for such a short period. But they are open to whatever God has in store for them.

‘We went to the Delve conference [held to help people explore the possibility of leadership within The Salvation Army] in June, and the week leading up to it I’ve never cried so much,’ says Trish. ‘When we got there I had to sit there and ask the Lord many times why he had brought me there in the first place, especially when a majority of the people in the room were a lot younger.’

But during that weekend, Trish had a midnight revelation that answered her questions.

She says, ‘I remember waking up at 3 am, telling Bruce to “Get up, get up, get up!” I asked him, “Why has the Lord called us?” Then I reminded him that when God called people such as the disciples, John the Baptist, Moses and Paul, there wasn’t an age factor. God just looked on the inside of people, as there was something in them that he wanted to use.’

That’s when things changed for her, says Trish. ‘God helped me  realise that he had called us because there’s something in us that he wants to use. Truthfully, we don’t know what that is yet, we don’t know where he’s taking us, but I’ll tell you what, I’m absolutely excited about finding out!’

Bruce is on the same page. He too doesn’t have any idea about the specifics of where the Lord is leading him, but what he does know is that wherever God takes him, it will be the right place.

‘I’m really excited about going to Booth College,’ he says. ‘I don’t think I’ve been in this kind of space in my thoughts ever in my life. The Lord is guiding me on a journey that bowls me over on a daily basis. I mean, I’ve only been in The Salvation Army for over a year, and it’s been a rollercoaster ride so far, but the kind of environment The Salvation Army operates—at the feet of the Lord—is mind blowing. I’m learning more and more about God’s purpose for me, and that, of course, infects the whole family!’

Having the chance to study God’s Word over the next two years—coming to understand it at a deeper level and being helped to explain it to people—is just one thing the Matakis are looking forward to as they start their two-year residential training early next year. But as well as all the learning they’ll be exposed to, the couple are also excited at the prospect of embracing the college community at the Booth College campus.

‘I expect we’ll be spiritually fed well at Booth College,’ says Trish. ‘But I also know we’ll also be joining a family where love is unconditional—and not just at the college but within the wider Salvation Army. So our journey to Booth College for the four of us (because we’ve got our mokopuna Kreighton and Paris with us) has been amazing. It is a wonderful whanau to be entering into.’

Giving it up for the Lord

It has been a sharp but joyful transition: from distance from God to full-blown devotion—and now to full-time service. As a result, Bruce and Trish are stepping aside from a comfortable lifestyle. They built themselves a strong business as chicken farmers before selling it to buy a 38-acre piece of land with their new dream home sitting on it. All of this is about to be left behind with their acceptance into officer training.

People may think they’re crazy for giving up so much, but to the Matakis, this sort of sacrifice is nothing when measured against pursuing God’s call.

‘We’re giving all this up without a thought, to be loyal servants of the Lord,’ says Bruce. ‘Our previous life was materialistic: doing things that we thought were best and that we’d always regarded as important. But God teaches us to be givers rather than consumers —and that’s something I’m enjoying about being in the Lord.’

They don’t regret their previous life, Trish adds, but neither do they regret having to give it all up for the Lord.

‘One of things Bruce did for us was build a material base,’ she says. ‘I mean, I’m a real lucky woman to have a man in my life that wanted to give me and my children the best of everything—and I mean the best. I mean who gets married to a man and he tells you, “Go and do shopping and buy whatever you want”? But now all those material things aren’t important anymore.

‘I mean, it’s lovely to have a nice home and everything, but we realise that with the journey now, we actually don’t require that anymore. This journey means God has called us to give our all—totally all—to him. We’re really grateful that we’ve been accepted into a wonderful whanau within The Salvation Army, and we’re just looking to the next chapter that the Lord has for us. Whatever it may be, wherever it may be. We’re looking forward to giving back’

By John Lazo-Ron (abridged from War Cry, 1 December, p5-7)