‘God and the devil fought over me, and God won.’

The rescue of the 33 miners in Chile, trapped below ground for 68 days, continues today (as of right now, ten miners have reached the surface), and the stories of each one are incredibly moving. Here, the video of the first miner, Florencio Avalos, reaching the surface and greeting his wife and son:  [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JAyr0NPvqo 635×355]

The second miner up, Mario Sepulveda, was responsible for the video tours of the miners’ conditions below. The Anchoress describes the moment when he finally reached the surface:

And then, after a brief wait, the second miner emerges from the rescue capsule with great joy; he embraces his wife and then opens a bag to retrieve…gifts.

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For others.

In the midst of all of this drama, all of the lights and excitement and concern, and at a moment when a man could reasonably be excused for thinking only of himself, Mario Sepulveda Espinace thought about others, and he brought them gifts.

Rocks? Rocks containing gold? It doesn’t matter. Mario Sepulveda Espinace crested the top of a hole from which he thought he might never escape, and his first instinct was to give. That’s a thing worth writing about, and thinking about and praying about. I wish I had a picture of that moment! How huge and resilient is the human spirit?

The fifth miner up was Jimmy Sanchez. Yesterday, he sent up a note reading, “There are actually 34 of us [in the mine], because God has never left us down here.” He is 18 years old.

And on it goes. Truly, the more I read about these men, the more amazed I am at their incredible perseverance and faith. God bless each one of them, particularly those in poorer health still waiting to be rescued.

(Follow the link here for live updates, including a video feed, of the rescue effort.)

Author

  • Margaret Cabaniss

    Margaret Cabaniss is the former managing editor of Crisis Magazine. She joined Crisis in 2002 after graduating from the University of the South with a degree in English Literature and currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland. She now blogs at SlowMama.com.

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