Prayer is often said to be the fastest mode of communication possible. And at the pace Angela Tomiye is blazing, it just got a little bit faster. The Hawaiian hiker is making headlines after she was inspired to place a “prayer box” at the top of Koko Head trail on the island of Oahu.

About a year-and-a-half ago, Angela had a vision. “I heard [God] say to me, ‘Everyone needs prayer, but not everyone is willing to walk into a church to receive it.’” Struck by that realization, Angela hiked the trail again, this time with her grandfather’s old toolbox in tow. She left it at the summit, along with pens and sheets of notebook paper. What happened next was an incredible surprise.

Angela returned to Koko Head trail two weeks later to find the prayer box jam packed with prayers. When the paper she provided ran out, hikers resorted to writing on the backs of water bottle labels, hotel stationary, and even Band-Aids.

Angela tackles the Koko Head trail every week to collect the prayers, and the box is always overflowing. “It fills my heart. It feels like Christmas,” she says.

But the real miracle happens when Angela gets back down to the base. She and several friends get together to read each prayer out loud, submitting them to God. Some are poignant (Dena, I love and miss you. The kids are okay. Love, John). And some are profound (My prayer is that I learn how to be happy with my husband and my life again.) They are all cherished by Angela and her friends.

“There’s a lot of prayer for healing,” Angela explains. “A majority of the prayers are for other people, but any time it’s a prayer for themselves, it’s a prayer for guidance and it’s for happiness. A lot of people seek happiness in their lives.”

The Koko Head trail has always been a feat of physical strength. But now, it’s also a spiritual trek. With each one of the 1,000 steps, Angela Tomiye prays for her fellow hikers. But she has prayers of her own.

“I pray that God would give me the courage to chase every dream that he puts on my heart,” she says. “I just want to do something that would impact a lot of people, and fortunately, I see the prayer box as way of doing that.”