Chris Rehrer and Peter Helenius have surfed many hot spots in Hawaii, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. So what were they doing driving through Sweden in the middle of the night with surfboards strapped to the roof of their rental car?
Going surfing.
In Norway.
The two were in Scandinavia to speak in a few churches about Surfing the Nations, a Honolulu-based ministry that sends surfers to share Christ and participate in relief efforts on the world’s beaches. Of course, Chris and Peter had to catch a few waves while they were there—which explains why the pair were making an 11-hour drive to Stavanger, Norway’s fourth largest city and home to several North Sea breaks.
“So, we’re in this car with a couple of friends,” Chris says, “driving across Sweden in the middle of the night on our way to Norway. I’m pretty good at navigational skills. Peter? He’s a very good people person who’s sometimes directionally challenged.”
Chris reminded Peter to look for a certain turnoff. Then Chris nodded off in the back seat. Peter motored through the darkness and chatted with friends who had joined them on this surfing safari. When Chris awoke several hours later and asked why the signs were leading them to Oslo—totally the wrong direction from Stavanger—Peter gasped. While blabbering away, he had missed the highway for Stavanger three hours earlier!
A year later, Chris and Peter can laugh about their Norwegian mishap, which turned out to be a divine appointment. “We arrived on May 1, springtime, stoked to be surfing in such cold water,” Peter says. “The water temperature was totally frigid: 42 degrees. Even with hoods, booties and gloves, we nearly froze to death catching a few waist-high waves.”
But once the two waded back onto dry land, they met a local who runs a surf school. “Chris and I started talking about how we were with Surfing the Nations, and he told us he had become a Christian in the last year,” Peter says. “Friends had been telling him that he should give up surfing and go into full-time ministry, but he loved to surf and teach others. After hearing how we were using surfing to share the Gospel, he realized that surfing and running a surf camp in Norway could be a ministry for him.”
Pumping Each Other Up
Chris and Peter have been inseparable since the summer of 2005, when they went into full-time missions work with Surfing the Nations.
“We compliment each other well,” Chris says. “I handle all the detail stuff, like studying maps for directions or finding a place for us to spend the night. It’s not easy traveling in Third World countries, trying to figure out what trains and buses to take. Peter, on the other hand, loves meeting the local people, and he’s so positive. A lot of times, we’ll be in a tough spot, and Peter will say, ‘Hey, God called us to be here.’ That really calms me.”
“We definitely look out for each other,” Peter adds. “Whenever things go wrong, it crosses my mind that I have a friend with me. Like the time in Sri Lanka when there weren’t any hotel rooms available, we had to sleep outside the airport with 100 people staring at us. It’s been a blessing to travel with Chris, and I would go anywhere in the world with him.”
The pair have globe-trotted to some exotic places and eaten weird foods that could gross out contestants on “Fear Factor,” including fried grasshoppers in Thailand and goat stew in Sri Lanka. One time, the red chilies in Bangladesh gave Chris pause. “The locals eat them like cheese sticks,” he says. “But I could tell they were hotter than a four-alarm fire. Peter grabbed a chili, but I warned him not to eat it. He did anyway, and his poor throat burned for 45 minutes.”
Onward Christian Surfers
This July, Chris and Peter led a group of surfing missionaries to Bali, Indonesia, on behalf of Surfing the Nations. They surfed with locals, brought boxes of clothing to impoverished villages and shared the Gospel with Muslim inhabitants as well as sandy tourists, mainly college-age Australians, who fly to Bali in search of a good party and a deep suntan. Chris and Peter’s responsibilities included safely leading and equipping two dozen Americans and a handful of Europeans during the month-long trip.
On such trips, Peter takes the lead when they land near a remote village, while Chris works on the details of scheduling worship times, teaching local kids how to surf and serving in orphanages.
“We’ve got things worked out,” Chris says. “I make sure the trains run on time, and Peter keeps us pumped up to evangelize others for Christ.” 
Check out Surfing the Nations at surfingthenations.com.
