A Circle of Prayer 700 Meters Down

In 2010, a rockfall trapped 33 miners about 700 meters underground at the San Jose mine in northern Chile. They were stuck in a space about the size of a small apartment, with almost no food and heat that never dropped below about 90 degrees. The worst day, one miner said, was when a rescue drill came close and missed them, and their hearts sank. One of the men, Jose Henriquez, stepped up as a kind of pastor. He told the others that even if they’d lost everything else, they hadn’t lost prayer. They formed a circle and prayed together twice a day while he shared God’s word. Up top, officials were quietly preparing for bad news, but more than two weeks in, a drill finally broke through. All 33 came out alive after 69 days, and several dropped to their knees to thank God.