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The average age of a nun is 69, but some nuns represent a new generation of women who are signing on to this radical new lifestyle. They are searching for meaning in what many describe as troubled times.

Their days are spent praying.

Roman Catholic convents around the country say they are experiencing a surge in sisterhood, so to speak.

More and more young women are looking for an alternative lifestyle.

It's not something you see every day -- a group of nuns getting out of the back of a pickup truck wearing habits and sunglasses.

On this day, they allowed 3TV inside their world, which revolves around prayer.

They are called the Desert Nuns and they are five women who came from Alabama.

Two years ago, they came to the Valley and were on a mission.

They are cloistered nuns, meaning they are shut away from the outside world.

Right now they are living in a makeshift monastery located on a remote hilltop about an hour north of the Valley.

"When we were up here, there were terrible fires," one of the nuns said. "One of our sisters was bitten by a rattlesnake. We are not exempt just because we are called to be spouses of Christ."

The land is owned by the Diocese of Phoenix and it is allowing the women to live there until they can build the monastery and chapel.

Their mission is to build a massive new monastery on donated lands, 40 acres in Tonopah.

It will be the only monastery of its kind west of the Mississippi. Twenty-eight cloistered, contemplated nuns will live there, secluded from the outside world and the public will be allowed to visit and pray.

But before they build, they had to get permission from the Vatican.

The nuns aren't exactly what you would expect. Even though they're cloistered, they are still hip to what's going on in the world, including the world of sports such as the Phoenix Suns and entertainment such as "Bruce Almighty."

In "Bruce Almighty," Jim Carrey ends up with the power to answer prayers and he does that online.

The scene is not that farfetched as the Desert Nuns receive thousands of e-mails from all over the world.

They said they get prayer requests from Iraq.

"Sometimes their prayers are answered in the way they want and sometimes they are not," said Sister Marie Andrew, who explains it's their jobs to read the prayers and pass them on.

"People come to us with their prayer intentions and their sorrows and their suffering and we take them to our Lord," she said. "There's just a lack of joy in people's lives it seems. People are very attracted to us because they see something they don't possess."

People are definitely curious about the life of a nun, which is considered radical.

Mary McDonald graduated from Seton High School in Chandler. She just turned 20 and she is about to say goodbye to the outside world to join the Desert Nuns.

"We rejoice today as one of our daughters, one of our sisters becomes a bride," said Bishop Thomas Olmsted as McDonald receives a new name.

"Everyone expected me to have tons of kids because I do love children," she said.

But she decided that she loved the church more.

McDonald grew up in Chandler. She has six brothers and sisters and had a very active childhood.

Her family went to church often.

When she was 18 years old, she was introduced to a group of nuns that came to Arizona to build a monastery.

"Something just really came alive in me," she said.

McDonald is part of a growing group of young women turning to the sisterhood in what many consider troubled times.

It was something that attracted the then-teen and she felt a higher calling.

It's very rare that the outside world is allowed inside an investment ceremony when a woman becomes a nun.

McDonald agreed to allow the public and 3TV's cameras inside. Olmsted gave special permission.

Many people cover their faces in prayer and then as her parents look on, McDonald comes forward, kneels and is ready for the moment that signals her break from the outside world.

Her veil is removed and her hair is cut off.

She is fitted with her habit. It's both a joyful and emotional moment for her parents. Because she's becoming a cloistered nun, they will only be able to see her twice a year.

"I think some people feel sorry for us ... as if we are forced in to this life or better yet we've been brainwashed," she said. "I'd like to see anybody try to brainwash one of these Desert Nuns."

Next, McDonald is given her new name and with that she becomes Jeanette Marie.

Her mother, Linda, said the new name takes some getting used to.

When their daughter first came to them and announced that she wanted to become a nun, both Linda and Merle said they were a little stunned. That was a year ago.

On this day, they watched as Sister Jeanette Marie entered her new, hidden life of love and sacrifice, and said they were filled with pride.

"She's happy with what she chose and it's an honor and a blessing," Merle McDonald said. "I'm proud of her and we love this group of sisters. They are wonderful."

The Desert Nuns were sent to Arizona by Mother Angelica from a cloistered monastery in Alabama. There are other nuns from that order that have also been sent to other states to begin monasteries.

Mother Angelica is the nun who started Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a world-famous Catholic ministry that reaches millions.