6 minute read
Rubal’s Story
Āpotoro 9:15 - ‘Heoi ka mea
te Ariki ki a ia, haere: nō te mea he kaupapa whiriwhiri ia nāku, hei mau i tōku ingoa ki te aroaro o ngā Tauiwi, o ngā kingi, o ngā tama hoki a Iharaira.’
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Acts 9:15: ‘But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.’
This is my Chosen Instrument
Rubal and his wife, Taumoana
David Rewi Rapana was born at Owairaka Marae, Ngāti Raukawa iwi on the 24 September, 1933. He was brought up largely by his grandparents, but after they had passed away he spent a considerable amount of time with different whanau. He attended Parawera Native school.
At a young age, whilst playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’, he met with an accident which resulted in him spending a long period of time in hospital. Rubal and his friend had found a gun whilst exploring in a whanau barn. Rubal had a wooden gun and his friend had the real gun which they thought was empty. When his friend returned Rubal’s ‘fire’, he shot Rubal who, luckily, had made a slight movement which ended in him being shot in the chin and shoulder. It could have been fatal, but God certainly was watching over him.
Rather than returning home after he was discharged from hospital he decided to go looking for his brother who lived in Tauwhare, and that is where he spent the rest of his life.
As a teenager and a young man Rubal had a variety of jobs - driving for Davies Trucking firm, the Matangi dairy factory, various farming jobs and finally working for the Hamilton City Council as foreman laying cables. He also did a stint in the army.
Rubal married Taumoana Aramete and had twelve children although, sadly, three of them died at a young age and two were adopted into close whanau.
He loved and participated in all kinds of sports: Athletics, as a long distance runner, as a member of the Matangi tennis club, a rugby representative for Cambridge and then Tauwhare. He was so passionate about his rugby that his wife Taumoana would try by all means to stop him from playing. She would cut up his boots so that he couldn’t play, but his friends would have a spare pair waiting at the field.
On another occasion he couldn’t go anywhere until he had chopped a large pile of wood outside the house that was needed for the fire, so a whole bus load of his team mates disembarked to help him out because he was regarded as a very valuable player. Even when he got older he continued to be involved in the sport he loved by coaching both the local rugby and netball teams.
It was his love of sport which indirectly introduced him to the Lord Jesus. As a young man Rubal wasn’t interested in Christian things but he couldn’t resist an invitation to attend a sports camp at Blockhouse Bay. In the evenings the participants were invited to listen to a guest preacher, but Rubal decided not to attend and went back to the dormitory, but little did he know that the dormitories had speakers in them so whether he liked it or not he couldn’t get away from the Gospel message. On the final night Rubal was convicted in his heart that he needed to receive Jesus Christ as his Saviour and he gave his heart to the Lord as the people sang the hymn “Coming home”: “Coming home, coming home, Never more to roam. Open wide Thine arms of love, Lord, I’m coming home.”
Carry my Name before the people of Israel
When he got back to Tauwhare Rubal joined the Church of Christ in Hamilton, but when his wife Taumoana also received Christ months later they fellowshipped at Hanatoria which was situated on the Wheki whanau’s property in Tauwhare. It was the strong Bible teaching that led him to fellowship there with his wife. Under the teaching of Jack Booth Rubal grew in his faith and his own ability to share the Word of God. He also taught himself Te Reo from the Paipera Tapu, and he used to spend his lunchtime in his truck (with the windows up in case passers-by heard him) practising his preaching in the Maori language.
He grew in confidence in Bible teaching which led him and his wife to travel around New Zealand preaching and ministering the Word of God in homes, churches, marae and prisons.
As a leader in the church Rubal was strong because he always lived 13
to please the Lord, even when it cost him, and he always encouraged his people to seek the Lord’s will in everything and to do what was right. He knew what it was like to be an outsider and he and his wife always made a special effort with those that were not from Ngāti Hauā. He felt keenly his responsibility as a shepherd of the flock and encouraged them to live by the Word of God, and one of his favourite sayings was “Go on, go on, go on.” In time he went all over Aotearoa speaking at Christian conferences.
Carry my Name before the Gentiles
He had three godly kuia who instructed him in Ngāti Hauā tikanga. They would accompany him tohui and tangihanga and with their support helped him get started in becoming a speaker on the local marae.
Acts 9:15 was the verse the Lord had given him when asked for guidance in becoming a full time Maori worker and he saw that his work on the marae was a God-given opportunity to bring the Gospel to his people.
He was chairman of the Te Iti o Hauā marae committee and was also invited to be kaumātua of the University of Waikato and Hillcrest High School. He played an instrumental part in Te Kura o Ngāti Hauā too (as chairman of the then PTA committee and then as their life-long kaumātua).
Carry my Name before Kings
Rubal was approached to work as an announcer at the Koroneihana in the office and then eventually was appointed as a representative speaker for the King Maker (Tumuaki) on the paepae at Turangawaewae. He spent quite a few years in this role. He had plenty of experiences sitting and talking with both Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu and King Tuheitia in his Kingitanga journey.
Both Rubal and Taumoana were avid supporters of their mokopuna and would travel all over the country to watch them play their sport or kapa haka. They even watched one of them in a band performing at the Smokefree Battle of the Bands in Rotorua and at a performance in Ruatahuna, not realising that they were a heavy metal band (which would have been so loud for them). When asked afterwards what they thought of the performance, Taumoana loyally said “It was very nice.”
Rubal also became an active supportive kaumātua sharing the Word of God with three of the local senior Kapa Haka teams - Te Kāheru Matarau a Hauā, Mōtai Tangata Rau and Te Iti Kahurangi .(He had mokopuna in all 3 teams).
Towards the end of his life he spent time in hospital and he would sing his favourite “Coming Home” and then move on to the Country and Western 14
“Take me home, country road to the place I belong” which amused the nurses. Rubal passed away on 1st August, 2019 after enjoying an evening of hymns and encouragement from the Bible with his church.
Rubal lived as the Lord directed him, fulfilling the Word of God (just as God had said of Paul in Acts 9:15), taking the Gospel to his people wherever and whenever the opportunity was given. He will be remembered as a pillar of the church and the Ngāti Hauā iwi, and will be greatly missed, but he is now home where he belongs.
