Lee | Kaikohe, Northland

“For me, my heart-to-heart is always going to be to Jesus, in prayer first and foremost, and then that’s kind of where I draw my strength, and it helps me to know what path I’m on, and to have focus and drive. So that’s probably my first heart-to-heart and I get joy out of that, and enlightenment.

The other one is just having heart-to-hearts with my children, helping them with what to expect out there in the world, and having heart-to-hearts with my husband. He’s probably the next one, and then with friends. The benefits of doing that is so that you don’t hold in resentment, anger, hurt or pain. You’re able to share that, and when you get that off, it’s a good feeling, learning how to trust people. Knowing who to share those things with, is important as well. Sometimes you think you can trust someone and then, they go off and share your story with someone else. I have a lot of people who sometimes talk to me, and then in about an hour or two they’re finding they’re spilling their whole life story to me and then they’re like, ‘oh I didn’t even tell that to my best friend’. I like to listen to people’s stories and I’m interested in their heart.

I grew up in Māngere, my parents were young and my mum was a real social person, and always cared for others. So those things are important to me, to care for other people. Being Māori we grew up with a lot of whānau around us. So caring and all that hospitality stuff is something that I’m used to. Right now I’m helping to restock the local pātaka and that’s because I feel for those people that go to WINZ or something, or to a foodbank and it’s their last straw, I looked at it and thought that can’t be the only way. There’s got to be another way that we can help people. So, that kind of drives me to keep continuing to do it. It’ll be two years this year in June that we’ve continued the one here in Kaikohe Library. I just filled up now and people are coming in already to grab food. So, there’s a need. I just like helping people, for me, it’s part of my faith, as well as knowing that helping others is going to draw me closer to Jesus. 

Sometimes it’s about getting over our pride, getting over some of the things that we think people won’t want to know. Don’t think  you are going to be a burden to someone, there are people out there that do want to help you, that do want to listen. Sometimes all you need is no-one to preach to you, or to say anything, just to sit there. Sometimes it’s just sitting there with somebody. I know that helped me one time in my life, and I just sat there with my friend, and we didn’t even say anything for hours but that helped.”