The following are the stories of three "true believers" - those who believe faith is stronger than any person and resilient enough to face any challenge.

Atheist-Turned-Priest

Patrick Hicks first came to Penn State in 1993. An atheist, he believed religion was a waste of time and science held the only true answers.

But that was then, and this is now.

Once refusing to even acknowledge God, Hicks is now a Benedictine monk.

"I think it's better to know him than to not know him," he said. "I never do anything halfway."

He's now known as Father Boniface Hicks, and his remarkable journey is certainly not the norm. It is a journey rooted in a faith strong enough to meet any challenge, even one so life-altering.

And it didn't just affect his own life.

Just before he began his monastic life, Hicks fell deeply in love with a woman with whom he thought he would marry and raise a "beautiful Catholic family."

"In the midst of all that... the call to give everything to the Lord was still there," he said, citing a Bible verse in which Jesus said if you leave a loved one for his sake, a person will receive 100 times more in this life and the eternal life in the age to come.

To millions, Father Boniface's story will be inspirational and reaffirming. The U.S. is the most religious country in the world; there are more churches and synagogues per capita here than anywhere else.

Two-thirds of Americans say religion is very important to them, no matter what their religion or beliefs.

Father Charles Amershek has been pastor of St. Rochus Catholic Church in Johnstown for 24 years. His ministry is centered on faith, and like so many other believers, based on a special trust

"A trust that there is a supreme being who creates us and sustains us. And creates a love and sustains a love. For me, love is knowing in the depths of my being there is a God and God is love and that life is good," Amershek said.

Father Boniface says that life is not only good, it's the best it's ever been. While his story of atheist-turned-priest is certainly more the exception than the rule, faith on college campus has taken a dramatic turn in recent years.

There are 62 recognized religious organizations at Penn State, making up nearly 10 percent of all student-run organizations.

And the numbers keep growing. Between 1999 and 2000, spiritual events on campus rose from less than 5,900 annually to more than 9,200. The increase can be seen across all faiths as Penn State's Jewish community has had to add two more Shabbat services to keep up with the demand.

"I believe that God works anonymously and unseen in lots of ways. I certainly did lots of good things in my life before I came to know Jesus and before I came to follow him. But now, I can see more directly how he's working in me and the people around me. But yes, I think it is better to know him than not to know him," Boniface said.

From Katrina's Darkness To The Light

As New Orleans prepares to end its Mardi Gras celebration, there are many still reeling from Hurricane Katrina's devastation. In the six months since the storm nearly wiped much of Louisiana off the map, the survivors have struggled to find the answer to the question, "Why?"

It has been an exceptionally difficult test for those who believe in the power of faith.

Rosella Tibbs was forced to leave Louisiana when the hurricane destroyed her home. But, she says, God brought her to Centre County for a reason.

Tibbs moved to Kenner, La., in 1989. Just 16 miles north of New Orleans, she heard the warning about Katrina but thought she could ride out the storm.

But, as she traveled with her brother away from the storm's fury, it became painfully obvious this was a storm like no other.

"I knew I was going to be okay, but I prayed for the people who were around me. There were women with children that were infants...3, 4, 5 weeks old that had nothing," she said.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin suggested Hurricane Katrina was a sign that God was angry at America, but Tibbs refused to blame God - not even during the nine torturous days she and her brother spent in their car running from Katrina. Over and over, she thanked God.

"(My brother) heard me saying this and he said, 'Sis, l how the hell can you pray to a God that's sending you through this?' I said, 'Gerald what you don't understand is we are alive....we have made it through this,'" she said.

Tibbs lives and works in Centre County now, and was taken in by members of the Christian Missionary Alliance Church. She said God brought her here because he has a plan for her. She expects to go to school this summer to become a midwife.

"I will be a midwife in four years, and three years after that I will have my own business. Why? Because this is what God has for me," she said.

She has little left from her life in Louisiana. Her health is not good. She has had two strokes. She was in a horrible car crash that left her paralyzed from the waist down for two years. And she has an easy answer to anyone who questions how her faith remains strong even as God was throwing so many challenges at her.

"When you get it...you get it. When that light comes on...that light's there," she said.

God's Will?

Walk into the Berkey Church of the Brethren on a Sunday morning and you'll find Tom and Bev Pomroy front-and-center in the church choir. Tom Pomroy's relationship with God has been much more important since he was diagnosed in 2002 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer that often kills.

"One of the toughest things when you have cancer is to be able to look at a friend or someone and say, 'I have cancer,'" he said.

But, don't try to tell Tom that the cancer was God's will.

"No, God didn't give me cancer. God allowed me to have cancer as a wake up call for me," he said.

And even though the cancer was in a very advanced stage, the Pomroys knew they were not alone in their battle to beat the disease.

"I just can't say enough about the people who prayed for me and the cards and the letters and the support that I had to get though this. I had a great doctor. I had great friends. But most of all, my faith," he said.

"As long as I relied on God and the Lord to strengthen me through this illness, he was right there, he was just like standing there with his hand out to me saying, "Hold on to me, I'll take you through this."

Research shows 64 percent of Americans polled in a recent MSNBC study say they pray every day. Only 6 percent say they never pray.

A study of patients following major heart surgery found those who prayed were better psychologically adjusted a year later. Other studies have shown medical patients who didn't know they were being prayed for by strangers were actually released from the hospital 11 percent sooner than patients not being prayed for.

Today, Pomroy is cancer-free. But, that could change tomorrow. So, he lives every day now like it could be his last.

It's easy to do when you find yourself face-to face with your own mortality. It's also easy to throw caution to the wind and forget about how you got where you are.

"I think God has a plan for each and everyone of us if we're just willing to listen," Pomroy said.

"We can ignore him, but as long as we listen to him, we're all right. I'm not saying everything's going to be clean and rosy - that's not so - but he'll never give us more than we can handle."