The plight of 33 Chilean miners trapped for two months 2,300 feet underground captivated the world’s attention. And when they were rescued their faith–and fashion–took center stage.
After their rescue, several miners testified of their faith in God. Bolivian Carlos Mamani and Omar Reygadas knelt down as soon as they were rescued and gave thanks to God. Reygadas held a Bible in his hands and wore a helmet with “God lives” written on it. Yet the Jesus T-shirts several of the men wore may have caused the biggest stir.
A gift from Campus Crusade for Christ Chile, the tan T-shirts read, “Thank you, Lord” on the front, and on the back referenced Psalm 95:4: “In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.” A logo for Campus Crusade’s Jesus Film Project was seen on the left sleeve.
Campus Crusade Chile national director Christian Maureira connected with the miners’ families and sent them the New Testament on MP3, as well as audio versions of the Jesus film, and later worked with the miners to design the T-shirt. Since the dramatic rescue–televised worldwide–Campus Crusade says it’s received a “deluge” of calls from people wanting to purchase the shirts and hopes to make them available, with proceeds benefiting the miners’ families.
“With these T-shirts, we want to tell [Chileans] it is the plan of God and the glory of God,” Maureira told Baptist Press. “God is in this situation. That was the mission, and we completed the mission.”
