Riding the wave that comes from the storms of life

Jemimah Wright (JW): You were born and brought up in a place many would consider paradise – are you Hawaiian?

Tammy Moniz (TM): I’m actually fourth generation Japanese. My great, great grandparents from both sides came to Hawaii from Japan, and they worked in the plantation fields. 

JW: How did you come to faith? 

TM: I was a senior in high school and there was a little revival going on. The mum of one of my classmates had a youth group at their house, so he invited me. When I walked in, there were more than 70 of my high school friends. I thought: “Oh, this is cool.” His mum had a guitar strapped around her neck; she was a very strong Hawaiian woman, very poised and prominent. She had a commanding voice, and the whole room just went silent as she sang. I love music, but what was more interesting to me is that the room went so quiet, and there was a peaceful feeling that I had never felt before. I was 17 and felt like I was an alcoholic. I always thought about and wanted to drink. I would get drunk at parties, and I would drink at home. That’s what scared me. I was also insecure. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I just wanted to be a wife and a mum and have a lot of kids, but at that time felt very confused. My home life was a mess: my mum was single and she had a boyfriend, so wasn’t always around. 

The beauty of riding a wave is that it has to come from a storm

At that meeting I gave my life to Jesus, and I was totally saved. It’s not even a religious word to me – my whole life changed, like 180 degrees changed. I gravitated to the people around me who became Christians and were excited to learn about Jesus and to go to different churches. I went to every church on this island!

JW: It wasn’t much later that you got married, was it?

TM: I met Tony when I was 20, and then we got married when I was 23. He had just become a Christian, too, and he was a professional surfer, so he was travelling a lot. When we got married, we started going to a church called Hope Chapel Hawaii Kai, which is in the same area that I grew up in. We were invited by the youth pastor to give our testimonies. There were all these kids from Hawaii Kai; I looked at them and thought: “Oh my gosh, these are little ‘me’s!” We gave our testimony, the girls came to chat and I prayed for them. I loved it. So we just started going back; we weren’t certified youth pastors, but we helped – for a long time. There was a pack of kids from youth that were the closest ones to us. We would surf together, do life together. We taught them how to play guitar and just love the Lord.

JW: When did you learn to surf?

TM: I learned to surf at the age of 20, when I started working at Local Motion surf shop, but I never had a lesson. It took me a year to even catch my first proper wave. In the line-up waiting for a wave, it was mostly all boys and men. There would be one or two of us women. Now you go surfing and I would say it’s 60 per cent women. I learned on a six-foot short board. Now, when we teach surfing, we take people on 11–12-foot, huge boards, so they have the best experience. 

JW: Do you connect with God through surfing?

TM: Whether you’re in the mountains or in the ocean, by the river or anywhere else in nature, you can’t help but worship God, because he made it all. The ocean is not like a mountain, which remains still. The ocean moves, depending on the current and the storm that happened way out to sea. It comes in, it makes its path and, when it hits the reef, it forms a wave and that crashes. The height of the wave depends on the strength of the storm in the ocean. The beauty of riding a wave is that it has to come from a storm. A big storm means there’s going to be a big wave. You’re going to get to ride it, if you just hang on tight and wait. It takes time for the storm to come and then the wave to push from all the way out at sea to land. So when the storms in life are happening, know that there is a wave coming. 

JW: What are some of the storms you have endured?

TM: In 2021 our house in Honolulu burned down. It had been given to me by my grandfather, and we had extended it and raised our five kids there. An electric battery overcharged and caused a spark and there was a strong wind that fuelled the flames. I was at home dying my hair, and I could only grab my purse and the clothes I was wearing; it was that fast. 

As we get older, we do have to fight for some things, such as our health

It was horrific losing everything and being homeless, but God said to wait well in the process of finding a new home. We stayed at our daughter’s house for two weeks, and then my friend let us stay at their mum’s house for two months. We were looked after, but it wasn’t home. 

Every time we were in need God showed up and provided and then an old 1940s house next to our old home came up for sale. We had to do a lot of work on it, but it is our dream to be here. It is truly a miracle, although it took us almost two years to find. God kept speaking to me through Isaiah 40:31: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (KJV). 

That has been one of my favourite scriptures since I was young. He works in the waiting – and it’s worth the wait, although sometimes it feels very hard. It’s like surfing: when you’re waiting for a wave to come, you’re anxious, and then it comes, but first you have to wait. 

JW: What has God taught you in this new season of being a grandparent?

TM: Getting older is seen as such a negative thing. We don’t have permission to get old; it’s like we have to fight to look young. Inevitably, as we get older, we do have to fight for some things, such as our health. I had a revelation, when I started having grandkids. I have two grandbabies that are four months apart. They’re two now, but when they were newborn if I had both of them in my arms it was a joy. But if I wanted to get up off the floor, I had to put one of them down but didn’t want to choose to put one down just to get off the floor. So I thought: “I gotta be able to do this.” I wasn’t really working out. I’m not overweight or anything, but I had even stopped surfing. It’s not about getting in a bikini; it’s not about looking young. It really is about prolonging my life so that I can be there to help my kids, and love and care for them and my grandkids. 

For all the ups and downs in life, I can only say that there’s no other way than to follow Jesus. There’s no other way to live. There’s no other peace, no other source of security, hope, love and acceptance that you’ll find in the world.