The biggest thing they will miss is the community spirit.
“The family feel is that when something goes wrong, everyone is everyone’s mate. You just don’t get that in cities,” says David.
They have seen it as a privilege to be part of people’s lives — not only through their congregation but also the wider community. David was the padre for the RSA and oversaw funerals.
“To be able to support families during this time was precious.”
Over the seven years the greatest need they have seen in Gisborne is affordable housing.
“We had people walking in and saying, “I’ve got nowhere to live”, says Tina.
It was frustrating to not have many options to give them.
“More and more people are living in their cars.”
Having an affordable, dry, safe home is what gives families security, says David.
“That gives them the confidence to try new things,” says David.
They have worked with a great team to oversee the food bank, weekly worship, social workers, the Family Store, budgeting service and much more — they have been at the coal face of need in this community.
Often, there were other problems like addiction and trauma.
But the need for more social housing in this district was undeniable.
It was frustrating to drive around Gisborne and see houses boarded up and empty, they say.
“We can do what we do because of the community support and sponsors we have. We do what we do because the love of God compels us to do it.”
And the saying that underpins that: “God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect.”
“Be kind to your self Gisborne, you’ve got a lot to offer.”
Taking over from the McEwens will be Captain Kevin Waugh and Major Janette Waugh. Captain Waugh will be familiar to a few people here already, as he used to live and work here.
The McEwens say they are excited to be handing over to them — not only because some of the community will remember them, but because in their first year of training, they were under the counsel of Kevin and Janette who had become good friends.
The Salvation Army is a worldwide organisation. New Zealand is under the South Pacific Asia zone, and the territorial commander for New Zealand is in Wellington.
It is run with military-like precision, and has a hierarchy of rank like any Army.
The home the McEwens will be provided with in Dunedin will be smaller because their four children have now left home. The Salvation Army works out the meterage required for each family based on size.
They have homes in each centre. The big furniture stays, and each family takes their clothes, linen, cutlery and crockery and moves into the next home.
It is a life of faith — handing control over to God and trusting the calling. Things don’t matter so much to them — they live a fairly minimalist life.
“It is definitely something we were called for,” says David.
The couple are now 49 and 54. They both trained as nurses, met, fell in love, married and had four children before they got the calling to serve God as part of the Salvation Army leadership.
It came at different times for the couple — and in rather different ways.
Tina got the calling first. There were subtle messages, which at first she was not sure were connected.
She had been a soldier and part of the Army since 14-years-old, and had always worn blue epaulettes on her uniform.
For example, Tina began to see red epaulettes on her shoulders — red being the colour of the Salvation Army.
The moment it all became clear was 3am one morning. Their family cat was very sick and had to be put down that day.
“God used to wake me up at 3am every morning. That morning God said, ‘Just as your heart is breaking for this cat, that’s how I feel about people who don’t know me,’” remembers Tina.
She went to a leadership experience at Totara Springs the next weekend and the separate messages began to connect and she knew it was her calling.
David describes his calling as more of a thunderbolt.
“I am a man, I don’t get subtle messages. It happened one Saturday night.”
He had gone to bed and was doing his nightly devotions when a particular song got stuck in his head.
It was the hymn, “All That I Am”.
If God wanted him to do this Salvation Army thing, he had better send him a big sign — like that song.
The next day at church, the morning went as planned, and All That I am was not on the song sheet.
At the end of the service the officer said they would finish up with a last song. It wasn’t All That I Am.
Then he said he felt there was one more song they needed to sing — it was All That I Am.
Tina says David went, “death-white”.
“I couldn’t say a word, I couldn’t breathe,” remembers David.
It was one of those moments where you can’t deny it, he says.
God knew which type of call each of them needed — Tina was 38, and David was 44 at the time.
Everything happened fast after that. With their four children aged between seven and 15, the family moved to Upper Hutt so they could study at the Salvation Army Training College.
They both graduated in 2010. Tina outranks her husband — by two minutes.
Although they are equally qualified as captains, their names were called out alphabetically and Tina was born Christina, so her official name beat David’s and she was commissioned first.
“Occasionally I pull rank,” she says with a smile.
David came from a Salvation Army family. Both his parents were officers, and he remembers growing up having to move every two years — as it was back then.
“It was great. You can do a lot of damage in two years — and you knew the Army never sent you back to the same place again.”
It is this cheeky streak together with a friendly disposition, which makes David relatable.
He has a Swiss ball for his office chair that he bounces on, and says he is an action-paced learner.
This balances perfectly with Tina’s soft, measured approach.
Tina remembers the first time she was called “Aunty” by a member of the community here and the feeling that she had been accepted.
The shared warmth between them for helping others creates a feeling of wellbeing and safety.
One night stands out for the couple during their time in Gisborne. It was Christmas Eve 2016. They were both tucked up in bed for the night when the phone rang.
It was Gisborne District Council. They needed support and did not know who else to call. There had been a bad bus crash. They needed somebody to make cups of tea and be there as support for the family and victims.
David and Tina remember the strong sense of community that night as everyone rallied around in the wee hours of Christmas morning.
The victims of the crash were all Tongan and even though they could not speak each other’s language, communication came from holding hands and being there — something the “Sallies” have always been known for.
They leave for Dunedin in December and are excited to have a daughter studying pharmacy at the University of Otago.
