The Remnant Online
News => Signs of the Times => Topic started by: Mimi on August 30, 2010, 05:50:12 PM
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30 August 2010 Last updated at 13:52 ET
Chile miners 'in better spirits' after family talks
Trapped miners in Copiapo, Chile (29 August 2010) The men have been sent dry clothes, food supplies and entertainment
The 33 men trapped in a mine in northern Chile say they are in better spirits after they were able to speak to their relatives by telephone.
The news came in a video message the miners sent up to the surface.
Engineers are due to begin drilling a rescue shaft to reach the men, who have been now trapped for three weeks at San Jose gold and silver mine.
The shaft, going about 700m (2,300ft) underground, is likely to take 90 to 120 days to complete.
The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11133018)
PBS broadcasts BBC World News and in it was a clip of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor saying 33 Bible were delivered to the trapped miners. This article does not include that information but it was thrilling to see this grand gift on a world-wide broadcast.
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The video, which was shown to the relatives again on Friday, was recorded by a mini-camera sent by the government in the plastic tubes used to send food through a hole about 4 inches in diameter. The boreholes have become the miners’ lifeline through which they are receiving medicine, clean clothes and electronic devices. On Thursday, they received 33 tiny bibles through the boreholes.
The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/world/americas/28chile.html?_r=1)
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Trapped Chilean miners find light of Word in 'mini-Bibles'
Adventist Church is 'spiritual reference' for miners, families at site
31 Aug 2010, Brasilia, Brazil
Magdiel Pérez Schulz/Adventist Review staff/ANN staff
The arrival of miniature Bibles to 33 Chilean miners trapped some 2,300 feet underground is bolstering their hope of rescue.
Seventh-day Adventist pastor Carlos Parra Diaz (left), shows one of the miniature Bibles sent down a supply shaft to the 33 trapped miners in the Atacama desert. Parra is serving as chaplain at the rescue site, local church leaders said. [photo courtesy South American Division]
chileMiners480.jpg
"Give thanks to those who sent us the Bibles," a miner identified as Renan told a Brazilian weekly newsmagazine last week. The Bibles "gave me so much faith that I will leave here," Renan said.
Seventh-day Adventist officials in Chile say the Bibles they provided the miners are supplying spiritual light as the group awaits rescue. Local media outlets have labeled the miners' survival so far a miracle, and their reports have highlighted the church's initiative.
The miners -- who have been trapped since the August 5 collapse of a tunnel at the San Jose mine in Chile's Atacama desert -- rationed what would have been two days' worth of food to stretch until they were discovered some 17 days later. Now, they await rescue, which mining experts say could take up to four months.
The Associated Press on August 31 reported that preliminary drilling has begun to liberate the miners. While they wait, food, water, medical supplies -- and now, miniature Bibles -- are arriving through a supply shaft.
Carlos Parra Diaz, an Adventist pastor who oversees the northern Chilean district of Copiapo, secured approval from Laurence Golborne, the country's mining minister, to send Bibles to the trapped miners. Each volume is approximately three by five inches to fit into the device that is transporting supplies to the miners. Each Bible was personalized with a miner's name and included specific scriptures to encourage them.
"We have always been available to help our brothers who are suffering both outside and inside of the mine," Parra said. "Now we have prepared ... these mini Bibles so the miners, in their confinement, can read the Word of God."
A magnifying glass accompanied each of the mini Bibles to make reading easier, the Brazilian newsmagazine reported. Each Bible is labeled with the words, "We are praying for your return." The magazine also said that Psalms 40 is highlighted in each Bible. The passage reads, in part, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit ... and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps."
The church also gave a copy of the Bible to the ministers of health and mining, as well as to each of the families at the rescue site. Parra is acting as the camp's chaplain, local Adventist leaders said.
"If God has kept them alive, he will continue taking care of them," Parra told the Brazilian newsmagazine. "Before, the prayer was for our [countrymen] to be alive. Now, we pray that the final rescue [will] be long before they expect it to be. We are asking for another miracle," he said.
As a result of the Bible distribution, the church has established a presence in the mine area and is now a "spiritual reference" for the camp, local Adventist officials said.
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I imagine they are praying a lot. May God use this to bring them close.
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Yes!
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I think the miners are to begin their journey skyward on Wednesday. Oh, how I pray they all get out alive!
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That's what I have read, too. A hearty amen to your prayer.
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This is a nice story on how it is to happen. Dramatic endgame nears for trapped Chile miners
By Frank Bajak and Vivian Sequera
Associated Press
Posted: 10/10/2010 11:00:00 PM PDT
Updated: 10/11/2010 05:56:52 PM PDT
SAN JOSE MINE, Chile -- They'll come up one by one in green overalls bearing their names on their chests -- first the fittest, then the weakest, twisting in a steel cage that proved itself with four flawless test runs deep into the earth.
The dramatic endgame hastened Monday for the 33 Chilean miners who have braved two months underground, with rescuers reinforcing the escape shaft and the 13-foot-tall rescue chamber sliding, as planned, nearly all the way to the trapped men.
"It didn't even raise any dust," Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said.
If all goes well, everything will be in place late today to begin pulling the men out, officials said. The lead psychologist for the rescue team recommended the extractions begin at dawn Wednesday. No official decision was announced, but Andre Sougarret, the rescue team coordinator, tweeted Monday evening that "today the miners sleep their last night together!" http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16313041?source=rss
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The miners are being rescued. The capsule reached them and the process has begun. Praise the Lord!
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/chile.miners/index.html?hpt=C1
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They've just brought the first miner out. It's wonderful to see that these men are being rescued.
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It is certainly a historical rescue. Absolutely chilling to watch. Chilean government television is showing every single move, shielding nothing from the world.
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I can't watch on-line. I appreciate the update. Exciting, isn't it. :)
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It is! To know that this rescue is even possible is amazing. The 2nd rescue worker was just lowered.
Just think of the family members. The face of the son, a very little boy, of the first rescued miner was beyond description. He was so overjoyed. I told grandson to imagine the happiness if that was his dad coming up. He suddenly got it.
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13 miners are now out.
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What joy! 16th miner just surfaced! Oh, what joy! I thought I'd awaken to 7 or 8 out, but no! Praise God!
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They're moving fast! I was looking at some of the still photos - seeing the joy and love as the families look into each others eyes again is beautiful. Here I go getting teary again this morning... More photos of that, and less of the President hugging the men would be nice. It's good he is there to rejoice with the families - but I want to see the families reunited. In my mind this is so close to what the 2nd coming of Jesus will be like - those we long to see again and who had faith in Jesus will be reunited. *warm fuzzy feeling*
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Omar Reygadas, 17th miner, just emerged holding and raising his miniature Bible! Thank you, Seventh-day Adventists!
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Wonderful! I wonder how many are giving God the glory for this?
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A miner brought up some minutes ago had "Gracias, Senor" which can mean, Thank you, Lord. At least one knelt to pray when he came out. They have 22 out now. CNN has a continuous live feed on their website as well as other news sites.
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#25 just saw daylight! The miracle continues!
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#28 is on his way up. Just 4 more to go.
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YAY! Isn't this amazing!
BBC LIVE FEED BREAKING NEWS: Capsule carrying Juan Aguilar, 49, emerges from rescue shaft. Miner 29 is free. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11489439
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1 left. #32 almost at top. His third child was born while he was in the mine.
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Wasn't it touching to see he and his wife reunite? Oh, what a day this is! The last miner is boarding the capsule, then the rescuers and it's over. I just see the hand of God all in this to get these men out of such a desperate situation with no slip up whatsoever. It is, indeed, a miracle.
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All the miners are now out and the 6 rescuers are being brought up. It is indeed a miracle that this has gone flawlessly. This was real reality TV! Even if I did watch it on the internet. :D
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We have certainly learned something through this: if you want something done when you are in a pinch, get the Chilean government involved.
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I received this in an Email. It is from a prominent newspaper in Chile. Unfortunately there is no link, but there is a color photo of Alex Vega "proudly displaying his shirt after exiting the capsule."
"COPIAPO-Excited and surprised have been the relatives of the first miners pulled from the San Jose mine, but the impact was not only to see them again. Another surprise was the shirts that most of them wore on top of the special suit they used when they emerged to the surface. The shirts, which have a large white star on a blue square and red on the chest, have written the phrase "Gracias Senor! Thank Your Lord" On the back it reads another sentence that says: "In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him... For His is the honor and Glory," which corresponds to verse 4 of Psalm 95.
Pastor Carlos Parra, of the Adventist church in the Atacama Region, told Terra TV that the message of the T-shirts is "precious" and that while he knew his church hd sent them, the miners kept them as a surprise and wore them. "And the miners kept from telling him because it was a surprise."
Alberto Segovia, Segovia's brother David, one of the "33", was pleasantly surprised. "We did not think they were going out with them, only with green special suits, but when we saw the first miners shirt, I was surprised," he said.
Segovia believes that the use of the shirt with that message makes it clear that the miners come spiritually renewed from the bottom of the earth. David told me out of here the first thing I would do is to go to church and thank God.
The local Adventist church has played a vital role attending the families of the miners at "Camp Hope" during the 70 days.
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(http://remnant-online.com/Images/chile.jpg)
Notice the Bible and the shirt!
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They know where their salvation came from!
Anyone know what it says on the sleeve? It looks like there is small print under what is probably "Jesus."
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CNN reported this explanation:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/14/the-story-behind-the-chilean-miners-jesus-t-shirts/
... and this link: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=33863 has a little more detail.
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Thank you. A logo for The Jesus Film Project.
"I am fine because Christ lives in me." - Jose Henriquez :)