Praying for family, peace, friends, and waves

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Members of Christian Surfers Hawai'i shared a brief prayer before their annual competition at Kuhio Beach Park. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser Christian Surfers Hawai'i 306-0297 On the Web: christiansurfers.com

And yes, they prayed for waves.

Christian Surfers Hawai'i holds its "board meetings" just offshore at Canoes regularly, says group president Joey Akaka. About 15 members make up its core group. Last weekend, the organization held its largest annual event, the Christian Surfers Amateur Contest, at Queen's Beach.

The organization, founded in 1984 in Santa Barbara, Calif., draws surfers from more than 15 churches in Hawai'i, and has been in the Islands since 1994.

Christian Surfers Hawai'i holds regular events every couple of months on beaches on O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands. Besides the annual event, there are two regular surfer camps, beach cleanups and dawn patrols.

One of those drawn to the beach last weekend was born-again surfer Lance Ohata, who said he had only recently reconnected with God, and disconnected from drugs, after being a user nearly as long as he has surfed — 40 of his 52 years.

"My home break is Ala Moana Bowls," Ohata said.

He quit cocaine 26 years ago, when his wife became pregnant, and quit heroin when it began taking a toll on his surfing, but it took him a lot longer to give up marijuana and cigarettes. That occurred just four months ago — "No," says Ohata, catching himself, "three months and three weeks ago" — after an altercation with his adult son.

Father and son have since made peace, though Ohata moved out of the family home and into the X-Factory's Kalihi living facility.

Tom Bauer, a director at the facility, serves on the national and local board of directors for Christian Surfers.

The X-Factory was a good place to get clean and sober, said Ohata, a surfboard shaper.

"When you cross the line and become a born-again Christian and confess, you feel the heavy weight and burden lift," he said. "You feel so light. One day at a time leads up to three months and three weeks."

That's the kind of story Akaka likes members of his organization to share.

Even though Akaka is a big guy, it's hard to keep up with him. He's kissing and slapping hands when he's not taking care of organization business or playing keyboard for his church's praise band. At the surf contest, he staffed the "Prayer Tent," a center of activity.

Out in the waves, competing in the "pastors open" heat, were Peter Louis of New Life Christian Fellowship, a biker's ministry; Joe Oguma of Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay; Jack Nordgren of Hope Chapel South Shore; and Roy Yamamoto from New Hope Christian Fellowship prison ministry. Oguma took the trophy this year.

Akaka said the event brought in food for the Hawai'i Foodbank and money for prison ministry programs.

Last year, the organization collected about $1,000 to purchase Bible study materials — videos, Bibles, workbooks — for its ministry work at the Halawa and O'ahu Community Correctional Center prisons, said Rod Shimabukuro of New Hope Christian Fellowship.

"We're all surfers with one purpose," said Kalani Whitford, who had a cell phone ringing in his pocket and another hanging from his shirt. "We go to different churches, but serve the same God."