Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Christian Surfers

The competition - the Lokomaika'i, or good will, Surf Contest - was co-sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands' Surf Ministries and Christian Surfers Hawaii, and was intended to raise money for a mission to Sri Lanka. At the start of the meet, a native Hawaiian kahu, or preacher, clad in a tropical print sarong and a kukui-nut lei, held a Bible in one hand and a microphone in the other as tanned and toned surfers gathered around him in prayer.
He blessed the ocean and the contest, and told the athletes that while most of them were there to win a prize, the real prize was finding God.
"The world is getting gnarlier and gnarlier," said a spectator, Neil Tsutsui, 38, who is part of a surfers' Bible study group on the North Shore of Oahu. "You get drawn into God with surfing. Surfing is a selfish sport: my wave, my ride. But this teaches selflessness."

From the NY Times

3 comments:

emily said...

I went to school with a girl from Hawaii. Not a Native. A rich white girl born and raised in Hawaii. She was, by far, the craziest person I've ever met. I don't mean, "Oh my God! I can't believe you just flashed your tits to the whole bar! You're crazy!" I mean saying things in the third person like, "Margarite is speaking in gibberish and sitting in the back of class with her coat over her head."

DCBCooper said...

How funny, Emily! Wonder what that girl is doing now?

emily said...

God knows. I think, actually, she's in L.A. or La La Land as I like to think of it.