Chilean miner: ” God has never left us”

Joel Kontinen

The dramatic rescue of the 33 trapped miners in Chile has caused many of them and their relatives and friends to think about priorities and that what is important in life. Even before the miners were able to leave their prison in the San Jose mine, Jimmy Sanchez, at 19 the youngest of them, sent a message to the surface that read: ”There are actually 34 of us because God has never left us down here."





Although 69 days at 700 metres (over 2000 feet) below the surface is a long time, the miners and their families did not give up hope. The wife of trapped miner Ariel Ticona gave birth to a girl the parents decided to name Esperanza, Spanish for hope. In addition, the area where the rescue crew and the families of the trapped miners camped – and from were the miners were lifted to the surface in an escape capsule built by the Chilean navy, was called Camp Esperanza.

The miners and their families expected a miracle – and they got one. Many of them were Christians so they were able to find hope in the Bible’s promises.

The Bible speaks a lot about hope. The book of Jeremiah says: ”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

The New Testament also tells us about the blessed hope of Christians. We are ”looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

You can watch a video clip of the meeting of the miners and their families on the BBC website.

Source

Padgett, Tim. 2010. Chile's Mine Rescue: Media Circus and Religious Revival. Time (12 October).