After spending 4 months in Ghana, all I wanted to do was to go back again. Thanks to fate/God/coincidence, call it what you will, I met some amazing people at University who were setting up a charity in Ghana (no prizes for guessing which charity!)

During my first trip to Ghana I realised what a huge part religion played in the everyday lives of Ghanaians and I just couldn't understand - how could God allow people who prayed and believes SO much live in such poverty? It was only during my second visit that I began to understand, with a little help from some very special people, that everyone we meet in Ghana is happy - truly happy.

They may be "suffering" or "paining" (these words get used a lot in Ghana) but i you ask them if they are happy or well the answer is always "yes" or "by the grace of God, yes". If you were ask someone here that you'd be lucky to even get an answer.

I learnt quickly that the children we work with don't pray for more food (although they will ask you for more food every half an hour!) or more clothes or a better house, they pray for each others' health and that Aunty Aggie remains strong and healthy. It works. If you ever had a few days spare and asked Agnes to tell you about her life you'd know that everything these children pray for happens. The fact that these children live in a country with so many diseases and health problems - malaria, yellow fever, TB - yet are *usually* so healthy and any illness they do suffer is short-lived proves that their prayers work. The fact that RHF is now working with the people of Santrokofi shows that if you ask, God will provide.

This morning I have prayed for the first time in about 12 or 13 years. I prayed for the health and safety of the children, that they are doing well in school and not worrying Agnes too much. I prayed for Agnes' health and asked God to give her the strength to keep going and not give up on any of the children no matter how "challenging" they can be.

I asked for help with our fundraising, I asked him to protect those crazy, crazy people who are throwing themselves out of a plane. I asked him to give my mum the strength to believe that she can do the Great Manchester Run. I asked him to provide opportunities for us to raise more money in the future.

I asked him to help everyone who wants to come to Ghana this summer to find the means to get there and most importantly, asked that he give them strength and patience to work well with the children so that the children can benefit from our visit.

Then I stopped praying and thought that maybe I was asking for too much and that maybe, praying should be about giving thanks for what we have already achieved and the experiences we have already had with the RHF and the children.