It’s 97°. Your hiking pack is heavy and you are totally exhausted. You’ve been trekking through the mountains for several days. Your feet are sore and blistered. You want a break. “Are we there yet,” you wonder.

As you approach the next village, you begin to hear the rhythmic pounding of drums. “A funeral,” the guide explains. Suddenly everything snaps back into focus. You’re prayer walking through the villages of unreached people groups in a remote corner of Southeast Asia. These people have never heard the name of Jesus. And they’re dying without Him.

But what can you do? You don’t speak the language. You’re just one college student. The need is too great. You are too small. Do we really have to keep walking? Are we making a difference at all?

Then you hear that still small voice, “Just take one more step. I’m with you. One more step. I have a plan. One more step. I chose you to be here in this place on this day. One more step. I formed each of these people in my image. One more step. I want to be known in this valley. One more step. I hear your prayers. One more step. Those who hope in the Lord will walk and not be faint. One more step…”

You come around a bend in the road. Something catches your eye. You glance up and see a rainbow stretched across the sky. God sees. He knows. He loves. He is near. He keeps His promises. One more step.

A smiling local woman extends her hand, “Welcome.”

God, build your Kingdom here. Send a flood of your peace and grace through this valley. Let it begin here, with this woman, in this house. Here I am. Send me. Use me. Let Your glory be proclaimed throughout this village. Let the people worship You. Let it echo off the mountains and spread throughout the land.