Each Wednesday night this summer, 26 million Americans tuned in to watch the CBS program "Survivor." One of the 16 castaways attempting to be the lone survivor who would walk away with a million dollars was a 24-year-old youth ministries major from Seattle Pacific University. When advised that each of the contestants could bring one "luxury" item to the remote island in the South China Sea, Dirk Been took his Bible. "I couldn't imagine not having my quiet time with the Lord for a single day, let alone thirty-nine," he said.

Being forced to eat beetle larvae was not the most difficult ordeal Dirk had to face on the island. The hardest aspect of being marooned on a remote island was not having anyone around who shared his beliefs. "The spiritual isolation was tortuous," Dirk admits. "The other members of the Tagi and Pagong tribes couldn't understand where I was coming from. When faced with the tensions of insufficient food and sleep (not to mention members of your tribe stabbing you in the back in an attempt to win a million dollars), he said, "I didn't have someone I could really open up to and pray with."

Fortunately for Dirk, he felt the support of family and friends at home praying for him each day. The day before he left for Malaysia, about 70 members of Prairie du Sac Evangelical Free Church gathered around him to pray for his health and safety. "It was awesome!" Dirk recalls. "And it didn't end there. Even though I was alone and lonely as the sole Christian, I felt the presence of the Lord in incredible ways."