More that 6,000 Seventh-day Adventist youth set a world record by writing out the Bible in 16 minutes in Picarquin, Chile, during a youth congress January 7 to 12.

The hand-written Bible, its pages stacked several feet high, was presented as a gift to the National Library of Chile. A notice will also be sent to the Guinness Book of World Records. Each participant, including the city’s mayor, wrote six Bible verses.

Among the writers was a paraplegic who wrote by holding his pen in his mouth. He completed his section, which included his favorite Bible verse: Philippians 4:13—“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Some 6,200 youth delegates attended the congress, traveling from across South America, Cuba, and the United States. The delegates participated in community service by singing in city squares, cleaning streets, passing out bags for garbage, and donating blood. According to organizers, the youth attended seminars aimed at preparing them as leaders in their local churches, teaching them skills to “meet the needs of the new century.”

“The results of the youth congress have been more than I expected,” says Jose Maria Barbosa, youth director for the Adventist Church in South America. He thanked the 300 staff members saying, “This congress was to show the youth how beautiful it is to be a Seventh-day Adventist.”