Hope in the darkness.

Campus Crusade for Christ provided miners with the t-shirts they were wearing as they came out. On the back of the shirt in Spanish is Psalm 95:4 "He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains."

This story came up on the Campus Crusade staff website, and I really wanted to share it with you. My family and I watched throughout the day as the miners came out one by one from the earth in Chile. When I read this story I had chills, and was so proud of the opportunity the staff in Chile took to share God's message of hope with people trapped in darkness.

mp3 audio tapes sent down to the miners with the Jesus Film and portions of the Bible on it.

Here is the full story.....

Hello team and friends! I want to share with you about the last 2 very intense weeks as we have worked on the project to take the Word of God and the JESUS audio version to the mine, but it has really be worth the effort as it is food for the soul. This long history of the miners that is now passing 2 months has been without doubt the longest survival experience for people trapped underground.
This all started on the August 5, when the San Jose mine collapsed because of the exploration in the mine. The news was not good as it was only 6 months after we had experience the very large earthquake and tsunami. With a population less than other countries in the world, problems like this seem much closer to you and much more like it is part of your own family.

After 2 weeks without news from the miners we could only think the worst. The government had made every effort, but it was reasonable to think that the miners were lost, above all considering the distance where they were located, some 700 meters (2,000 feet) deep with a difficult future to be rescued. But God had other plans and 2 days later (the 17th day), contact with them was made. Obviously we were all very happy and we celebrated the miracle that all were alive.

As Campus Crusade, God guided us to think about how we could help these men and this was how we took the initiative to contact some churches in the north, leaders and authorities about sending the JESUS audio into the mine. It wasn't easy in the beginning because of some apathy in the Christian leadership and a lack of a sense of urgency, together with the restrictive control of the rescue team but, God in His sovereignty provided that we were able to gain contact with the daughter and the brother of 1 of the 3 Christians that were trapped there.

During several weeks, I was in contact with them and I explored the possibility of sending them audio material. Finally, I traveled to the mine with 33 MP3's containing the JESUS audio version and an ample portion of the Bible. I was there for 2 days and we sent the MP3's through each family members that were there.

Jose Samuel, my contact in the mine (father of Hettiz and brother of Gaston) is an extraordinary man who has really surprised me. The psychologists that are giving help from the surface have recognized that he has been a tremendous emotional and spiritual support for the rest of his co-workers.
He sent me a letter that grabbed my attention for his incredible clarity of thought. For example, some parts of the letter are:

• "I want to express my appreciation for this great blessing for me and my co-workers, it will be very good our edification" (He is talking about the MP3's)
• "I am well because Christ lives in me"
• "We have prayer services at 12 a.m. and 6 p.m."
• "I ask all of you for pray not only for us here, but for all the lost people in the world"
• At the end of the letter he signed off with Psalm 95:4, "In his hand are the depths of the earth, and mountain peaks belong to him."

This is a very motivating story, let's continue to pray for the salvation of these souls. Thanks for being part of this. 

Update from Christian Maureira, Chile National Director and translated by Doug Barron

Where does my help come from?

Many people say that the process of raising up financial partners for my ministry will stretch my faith in ways that I have never experienced in my life. I agree that it is without a doubt stretching my faith in many ways, but more than that, right now, God is using this time to expose where it is that I put my hope. Does my hope come from the One who Created the heavens and Earth.... and who created me... or do I seek to find hope somewhere else?

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Daily my prayer is that He would expose where I am putting things or people above Him. I'm asking that He reveal to me where I have elevated something or someone to be the source of my hope, rather than going to the Almighty Counselor for the help that I need. I ask Him to prepare the way before me, bless my efforts, be my first love, and yet time after time, I find myself seeking help and refuge in the temporary things of this world and not from Him.

 He who keeps you will not slumber.

His glory brings healing to the sick, hope to the hopeless. He who keeps me does not close His eyes to my needs. He does not sleep when I am hurting, He does not even sleep when I am well. He who keeps me in His arms will not slumber, He will shade me from scorching sunlight, He will be my keeper in the night. 

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

That His glory would pour out over me, that I would sing of His praises by morning and seek His refuge by night. That I would not lose sight of or abandon my true love.... the One who loved me first. That I would rest in the truth that He watches over my coming and my going, both now in this season, and for all time. In every moment He keeps me, and He watches over my life as precious in His sight. How precious am I to Him? I cannot measure the greatness of this kind of love.... And yet how precious is He to me? Not nearly enough as He deserves.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
       where does my help come from?

  My help comes from the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.

 He will not let your foot slip—
       he who watches over you will not slumber;

 indeed, he who watches over Israel
       will neither slumber nor sleep.

 The LORD watches over you—
       the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

 the sun will not harm you by day,
       nor the moon by night.

 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
       he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going
       both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121