The Chilean Miners had the Bible with them

If you've been watching the news, you know the story of the Chilean miners who were trapped under the earth after a cave-in. They were pulled out this past week, and freed after months in a deep dark hole. But what you may NOT have heard is how important the Bible and Bible preachers were to them. The work of evangelical Christian pastors was key to their maintaining morale in the many weeks trapped in the darkness.

Marcelo Leiva, pastor of Vallenar Baptist Church, was called in to provide spiritual counseling at Camp Esperanza (Hope), where the families had gathered and where communication with the miners was ongoing.

Leiva was permitted to speak through a telephone to Henriquez, to pray for him and encourage him, and the pastor sent letters of encouragement down to the trapped men. He also shared the Gospel with their families, and one of the miners' wives accepted Jesus as Savior.

Also as he mingled around Camp Hope, Leiva witnessed to Chilean policemen and foreign press who had convened at the site, including a Japanese reporter.