Mom and Her Teen Sons Were Reportedly Just Minutes From Drowning — but Then These Christian Surfers Arrived

A mother and her teenage sons found themselves in a dire situation in rough waters just off the coast of New Zealand on Christmas Day when a group of Christian surfers came on the scene and reportedly saved their lives just in the nick of time.

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When members of the North Shore Christian Surfers Group arrived at Bethells Beach near Auckland, New Zealand, last Thursday they were told that three individuals were struggling out in the water.

After paddling out to the distressed mother and her sons, surfer Darren Celliers said that he and his four friends tried to calm the group down before bringing them to safety.

"The younger brother was just freaking out. He was scared and in shock," he told the New Zealand Herald. "We spent the first few minutes trying to calm him down and explain that he was going to be all right."

From there, the men paddled the distressed individuals back to shore.

Celliers told the outlet that the younger brother, who was reportedly 13 years old, believes the surfers saved his family members' lives.

"If you guys hadn't come, I would have died out there," the young man reportedly told his rescuers. 

Celliers said the group was in a dire situation, as the mother and her sons were exhausted and were not making any progress getting back to shore, according to the Herald.

"It was pretty freaky," Celliers said, adding, that he believes the family likely underestimated the dangers. "Even being an experienced surfer, I wouldn't just go swimming out on the west coast without flotation. It's freaking dangerous."

(H/T: New Zealand Herald)

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