A multistory building on the Corporación Educativa Adventista campus in Cali, Colombia, collapsed during the August 10 earthquake. On August 17, Yeison Andrade, president of the Pacific Colombian Conference, shared a report with leaders of the South Colombian Union Conference and visitors from Maranatha Volunteers International, stating that every student and teacher escaped the building unharmed.

During his report, Andrade shared photos and testimonies of what he called “miraculous circumstances.” Andrade, who arrived at the school just minutes after the earthquake, also reported how, despite the tragedy, the site soon became a center for feeding rescue teams and other volunteers.

The earthquake occurred after the school entrance bell signaled students to leave the open court for chapel services.

“They were listening to the daily devotional when the earthquake struck,” Andrade said. “If the building had collapsed just a few minutes before, the story would have been different.”

The first of many fortunate circumstances leading to everyone's safety was the time change of chapel services, led by Deiby Bustamante, the school's chaplain. The morning devotional used to take place at 6:30am.

“But some parents were late, so we decided to move the daily devotional to 7:30 so no one could miss it,” he shared. “Otherwise, the students could have been outside, at recess.”

Second, Andrade explained that the school had an evacuation protocol for disasters like this. Carolina Gómez, the school's principal, shared how as soon as she felt the first tremors of the earthquake, she ran to the hall and gave the evacuation order. Bustamante saw Gómez and joined the evacuation efforts.

“I was worried about my son, a kindergarten student,” he shared. “But I was also worried about the rest of the kids. And I had full confidence in our team.”

But not everything happened according to plan.

“The evacuation protocol stipulated that students must leave their classrooms and gather at the open court, precisely where the building fell,” Andrade explained. “That would have been deadly.”

Something happened, however, with the first-year and sixth-year classes, the two closest to the open area. The sixth-year class ran to the open area, but as the earth was shaking badly there, they ran to the school building to hold on to the wall with their backs to the open court, Gómez shared. It was then that the building fell.

“We just stood there, praying that God would help us to breathe and move away from the area as soon as possible,” she said.

The first graders, meanwhile, were ready to leave their classroom for the open area within seconds. But one student was still in the bathroom. Their teacher made a quick decision.

“We’ll wait for the missing student. We will leave altogether,” she told the class. That decision, too, proved lifesaving.

Gómez shared how school personnel eventually had the pleasure of handing every single student to their parents, unharmed. And it was not an idle wait as the concerned parents arrived to pick up their children, Bustamante said.

“I told them to form a circle to pray. And we reminded them of God’s promises,” he shared. “We ended up embracing in a big hug, as we told them, ‘You are not alone! The King of kings is with us!’"

According to Andrade, another factor that may have helped save lives is that the building did not collapse entirely onto the open area. Instead, the ground beneath the concrete's weight gave way, causing part of the structure to sink before it tilted slightly and fell.

“Part of the building went down into the earth before turning a few degrees on itself and falling down,” Andrade explained. As a result, only part of the building fell onto the open area, which helped save the sixth-grade students standing outside.

Yet another miracle, in Andrade’s words, was what happened to the school cafeteria and kitchen section.

“Part of the collapsed building fell on that area of the school at a time when school cooks were working,” Andrade shared. “But when we ran to find out what had happened, we saw the school cooks walking out, covered by dust but unharmed.”

Just a few hours after the earthquake, church members from several congregations around the city came together to support rescue efforts and serve the community in its hour of need.

“We helped feed members of the rescue teams arriving from Mexico and Israel,” Andrade shared.

Andrade added that spaces inside the school became places for members of the armed forces to rest during rescue efforts in the area.

“Right now, we have about 40 soldiers lodged there,” he said during the report.

Church members arrived with groceries and other supplies for those affected in the area. The school soon transformed into a warehouse and distribution center, Andrade reported.

“It became a remarkable movement where we could also see our neighbors’ solidarity as well,” he said. “Thus, the school became a center of influence that helped the Adventist Church get an outstanding reputation.”

The original article was published on the Inter-American Division news site.