Jesus Is Lord Barbershop

WHĀNAU KAI UPDATE | GOING MOBILE NEXT FRIDAY & SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS! 🚐🍲❤️
​Friday night brought a few unique challenges, but it also made one thing crystal clear—we need to take the kai directly to where our whānau are.
​Instead of waiting for everyone to come down to the shop, we are going mobile! Starting next Friday, we’re doing our own version of "Kai on Wheels" to reach those living in tents, on the streets, and those who simply can't make the trip to us. Serving those literally living on the streets and making sure they are fed and looked after is the true highlight of what we do. There is nothing like blessing and being blessed by our street whānau.
​SPECIAL SHOUT-OUTS & BIG MIHI:
Sister Lou: A massive blessing and Nga Mihi to sister Lou for making the fried bread, everyone loves your bread sis! Thankyou for your blessings and your support! 🍞✨️
​Michelle Walker: A huge thank you to Michelle Waker for blessing us with kai! That beautiful, beautiful stew you made for last Friday was enjoyed so much. Thank you for your warm heart and support! 🍲✨
​St Paul’s Hockey Team: A massive thank you to the St Paul’s Collegiate School Hockey Team (Hamilton) and their organizers for reaching out and blessing us with a generous supply of kai for next week! 🏑✨
​We are so grateful for your support and thoughtfulness.
​No matter the challenges, we keep loving, serving, and pushing forward together.

Stop looking for love ❤️
Become love
Be born again
Born of God
God is Love

😪😪😪😪 It absolutely breaks our hearts to express our deepest condolences for yet another homeless whānau member who has passed away on the pavement right outside Paul Goldsmith’s office—gone before we could even ask why, leaving behind a story we will never fully hear.
​People love to sit back and judge, but nobody truly knows until you sit down and have a decent kōrero to hear their realities. A lot of our people out there are on the streets simply because they lost their jobs, lost connection with their whānau, or had every door slammed in their faces just because of their appearance or because a cold, broken system assumes they are lying. Sure, there are struggles, but he that is without sin, you cast the first stone. What if it was your own son, your daughter, your mum, your dad, your nanny, or your papa freezing out there? You'd be completely broken.
​To the leaders of New Zealand, Mayor Ken Couper - Mayor of Whangārei and Whangarei District Council : sitting in warm offices while our people perish in the cold is unacceptable. Homelessness is not a political debate—it is a life-or-death crisis. We’ve already put forward our Project Shelter proposal, and it’s time to act. Give us the keys to an empty building for a 90-day temporary license to occupy with working toilets and showers. You handle the building compliance, source the beds, and fund security through networks like CitySafe. Put them to work providing security for the overnight shelter. We will supply the hot meals, the leadership, and the care from 7:30 PM to 7:30 AM.
​This isn't about budgets or red tape—it is about saving human lives, and safety is your duty. With the election coming up, politicians will be out asking for your votes with promises, but a true leader doesn't hide behind a desk. A true leader leads by example and has a heart that beats with the people. You already know who you are.
​

A woman died from exposure after being found in -4.3°C weather in New Brighton.
A person passed away during severe sub-zero weather (-2°C).
A man in his 40s died during an extreme cold snap on Cuba Street.
A person was found dead outside an office building on Great South Road.

It was so good to catch up over some hearty kai with our whānau on the streets and in the community. Even with the rain, it was a special time of good chats and connecting with those we haven't seen in a while.
​A massive thank you again to my dear sister Lou Tip for the amazing fried bread. Really appreciate you and your whānau so much—Ngā mihi nui, sister Lou! A big ngā mihi also to the two brothers who came down again last night to help support and dish out the kai, including a special shout-out to my nephew Hamish and his tamariki—ngā mihi koutou katoa. Thankyou to ReSport & Buddhi for your donations, we gave out alot nga mihi.
​We had some amazing, positive news last night—hearing that some of our whānau have made the choice to move off the streets and into homes is a real bonus and a massive plus. While there is still so much work to be done, keeping those conversations going and encouraging them to choose what is best and necessary for themselves instead of being out in the cold makes all the difference.
​At the same time, it is deeply disheartening and appalling to see that the Ken Couper - Mayor of Whangārei , Whangarei District Council and have done jack to support our whānau. We have seen zero work done by them—they only care about their pockets, not the reality of our community. They should be ashamed of themselves.
​The truth is, it’s the community and grassroots groups doing all the hard mahi on the ground, carrying the weight and making sure our people are well-supported and looked after. Last night, our whānau were able to grab some clothes and blankets to keep warm and keep them going. They don't take much, but every little bit counts.
​We are truly blessed to be able to keep showing up, serving our community, and caring for our whānau. We just carry on doing what we do.

What a massive week—between family birthdays and being out on the ground doing the mahi, it has been full-on.
​Tonight, we came out to set up and share some food and time with our whānau on the streets and across the community. People rolled in in waves throughout the evening, a handful at a time, which made it so nice, relaxed, and unhurried.
​A massive thank you to my dear sister Lou Tip for making the fried bread and bringing it in for us—really appreciate you and your whānau so much! Thank you also to the brothers who came down to help dish out the kai, and a special mention for the beautiful guitar playing from one of the brothers tonight. Absolutely loved it.
​It was lovely to just chill, have some good chats, and catch up properly. These moments of connection and rest are so needed and keep our tanks full for the road ahead. Great, relaxed time tonight.

Another wet and cold night out there, but our whānau walked into warmth, hot kai, and genuine care.
​A massive thank you to our incredible community for always stepping up with bread, baking, and essentials. A special shoutout to Women's Refuge for donating personal care items for our whānau tonight, we made up gift bags for our whānau—it means the world.
​Seeing the community wrap around our people week in and week out is a humbling blessing. We are ever so thankful, and so are they.
​Meanwhile, Mayor Ken Couper, mayors before him like Vince Cocurullo and Sheryl Mai, and all the leaders who came before them, are too busy pushing their latest projects, taskforces, and council forums. You talk about supporting those who need it most, but you are a little bit Johnny-come-lately to a crisis that has been happening on our streets for years.
​You should all be ashamed of yourselves. It’s the community and the ratepayers funding all these projects, yet when we ask for a say, we get nothing. You have wasted money on so many things instead of utilizing it to build a proper emergency shelter years ago—complete with proper security, hot showers, toilets, hot kai, and warm beds for our homeless whānau who need them now.
​And let’s not forget our local marae and the organizations running them. What are they using their marae for at nighttime? Of course, there are tangihana, but what about when it's freezing, wet, and raining—when our people and our community need shelter the most? They have been forgotten and neglected in this too.
​To our local Māori wards and every single councillor: what are you actually for? Even you aren’t helping our whānau out on the streets.
​You and every leader before you have completely failed our community. Whangarei District Council Ken Couper - Mayor of Whangārei

Jesus Is Lord Barbershop our whānau is back at it again tonight! ❤️
​A massive thank you to our amazing community for all your love and support with what we do every Friday night. We love what we do, and we are driven with so much love, passion, and care for our whānau who are living out on the streets.
​Tonight, we have hot soup, curry sausages with hot rice, and sausages and bread, along with plenty of warm clothing, socks, underwear, blankets, and sleeping bags available tonight to our whānau who are cold, struggling, and living it rough and hard out on the streets. Looking forward to being with everyone tonight.❤️💙

So excited

Friday Night Gratitude Post 🌌

​Big love and thanks to our awesome community! We are so grateful for all the ongoing donations and to those who have offered to assist with kai and supplies for our Friday night runs.
​Our community outreach is built on pure heart and generosity, and we appreciate everyone who steps up to support our whānau on the streets without expecting anything in return.
​Thank you and praise the lord for keeping our people cared for and fed! 🤝 ❤️