Even though a devastating house fire took their home and belongings on Tuesday night, the Moniz family is praising God.
On Wednesday, professional surfer Kelia Moniz posted to Instagram that her parents' home in Hawaii had burned down overnight, incinerating everything inside.
“My parents house, my childhood home went up into flames. Very crazy you have quickly things can change,” she wrote alongside a carousel of photos showing the house’s charred foundation and her parents, Tony and Tammy Moniz.
Moniz shared that under normal circumstances, the entire family, which includes five siblings and four grandchildren, would have been gathered inside during the time the fire started.
“So last nights scenario could have had a much different outcome,” she wrote. “Today we remember a house full of love, and so many (memories) thanking God we have my mom and dad here with us.”
Less than two hours later, the only daughter of one of the most prolific surf families in the world shared an emotional update.
“8:49am you can’t make this up.....my moms Bible was in the middle of our (burned) down living room and it was not even remotely damaged. Also, this rainbow appeared reminding us of God’s wonderful promises!!!”
"The house is gone - this bag my mom had in there had her Bible and her Bible is completely intact. It's the craziest thing ever," Kelia shared to her Instagram stories before panning to a colorful rainbow in the sky. "Never a rainbow without the rain."
Mom, Tammy, shared a video walk-through of the damage on her own Instagram stories, as well as the moment her Bible was miraculously found amongst the rubble by her friend and pastor.
“Is anything in it?” she can be heard asking curiously when a bag was discovered in what used to be their living room. As the bag is dusted off, the Bible is pulled out to the sound of cheers from friends and family.
“My Bible survived!” Tammy exclaimed. “The only thing I was really desperate about was my Bible and she survived. This was in the middle of my house. Thank you Jesus, holy cow.”
Both Tony and Tammy Moniz, who own two surf schools in Honolulu, were not injured in the fire.
“When you have a Bible, you read and underline and highlight when God speaks to your heart. Another Bible doesn't replace it,” Tammy Moniz told TODAY Parents. "What's crazy is that so many things were lost, but we found my Bible and then my husband was joking because it would be typical that my bible survived and his didn't, but then we found his! It was all wet, so right now it’s outside drying. It’s such a miracle."
The blaze began in their garage and lit a neighbor’s tree, creating an inferno. The neighbor was safely evacuated and her home was spared.
“I was freaking out worrying about her,” Tammy shared to social media while walking past charred wood and ashes where the family's home once stood. “The wind was blowing pretty strong last night so when it engulfed the garage last night, it was pretty quick.”
Later in the day, Kelia posted a heartwarming update via Instagram stories, including a GoFundMe that has been created to help the family move forward and rebuild.
“I just wanted to say on behalf of my family I wanted to thank everyone for the kind of overwhelming amount of support and love that we’ve received," she said. "We are so thankful that my parents are safe. Everything that they lost is definitely stuff that can be replaced. We are thankful for their safety and health...Thank you to everyone. We are overwhelmed with the amount of love.”
Related:
