DeBusk Hall is part of the Bean Complex, known as the ghetto dorms. They are made of brick, the rooms are small and dark, with only two small windows. The walls are paper-thin, and even when you're in a room it feels like you've never left the hallway. The dorms are also known for being a dark place spiritually, and this year they are living up to their reputation.

Dan, Ben and I have only met a couple Christians in Bean. The majority of the students spend more evenings than not partying (i.e. communal binge drinking) or obsessively studying. The three of us quickly realized that our purpose in DeBusk is not to focus exclusively on the few believers we can find. We are to be a light in a dark place. We are to offer Jesus to people who desperately need more than the momentary highs they experience.

When invitations to our Bible Study did not work, we decided to take a different approach. We planned a "spiritual discussion" with free pizza in the main lounge of DeBusk. We invited everyone in the dorm. Our purpose was not to teach or preach (though they often asked us for our opinions), but to get people thinking deeper and asking questions. We wanted to build trust so they would not be afraid that we were going to shove something down their throats, but show that we care about them and their thoughts.

Twenty students showed up. We were shocked, and thrilled. And they shared openly to questions we had prepared, such as "what is spirituality?", "is there a God?", and "what do you think about Jesus?". While some of the discussion was argument and debate, several people shared vulnerably about how they feel about the idea of a God.

Nearly all of them believe that God does not exist. There is nothing eternal, and after death life just ends, as if it never happened. There is no higher purpose to this world or our being in it. So it makes sense to just try to be as happy as possible day-to-day.

It was bittersweet. It shocked and saddened me that so many people can live with that kind of perspective on their existence. But I could tell that they were searching. Two of the students, along with four other non-Christians who were not at the discussion, came to our Bible Study the next day. Others said they would come the next week. Still others are asking when we will have another discussion (which we are planning on).

So DeBusk is not as hardened as I had believed. Though they do not believe in God, they are not content with that conclusion. It's almost like they want us to prove them otherwise. I am excited to see what God will continue to do through us in that dorm.