Levente Horváth, the founder of the Bonus Pastor Foundation (on the right), and Ferenc Bálint, one of our staff from the Ozd Therapy Center, recently spent ten days in Scotland.

Between 13 and 23 March 2009, they visited several local communities, renewed old friendships, made new friends and consolidated Bonus Pastor's relationship with the Blythswood Care Trust. Wherever they went they shared the goodwill of the BPF by presenting its projects and activities. Ferenc tried to notice everything and record it with his camera and his thoughtful mind. This is how his extensive diary was born, from which we share with you the most interesting parts (for privacy reasons we have used only initials for the names of persons).

The Diary of Ferenc Bálint

March 13: Since this was the first time I was flying by plane, there was a mixture of curiosity and a slight amount of fear in me in wondering if the plane would crash – but I was sure that God was calling us to this trip and that all would happen according to His will. I had a seat next to the window, right by the wing. The view was limited because of the small window, but still I was pleased as we waited to take off. Meanwhile, I was trying out every button which was switchable, and then I made myself comfortable. In the sky, above the clouds, it was wonderful and interesting as I looked down through the air. Different thoughts went through my mind. I could see the earth from 12,000 meters up. It was gorgeous… It became even more evident to me that I’m only a speck of dust, and yet God is still here with me, because we are flying according to His plan.

March 14: In Dingwall, near Inverness, right after breakfast somebody came and invited me to go to plant trees with him. I couldn’t say no. Off we went to his farm, the weather was rainy, chilly and windy. At the start I fell into a brook, but not long after he fell in, too. But the work went on. It was nice and at least I had a view of the landscape there, getting to know the unsual sheep and the cows that looked like bison. Meanwhile Levente was preparing the Foundation’s presentation.

March 15: The worship service started at 11 am in Inverness. Around 100 people gathered there, I started with a short speech, then Levente led his devotion. Perhaps it took a little bit too long, nonetheless the audience listened with interest. Many of them knew him already, and at the end they greeted him warmly. Many brochures were taken away. Then we headed to the other location, where the worship service was to start at 6 pm. But before that we went for a pleasant ride down to the seaside. We drove through many beautiful places. The villages were fairly far from Inverness and many of the outlying farms were spread over the countryside.

March 16: The port of Ullapool is approximately 60 km from Inverness. We sailed for about an hour and 45 minutes from there without being seasick and we arrived at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and Harris. This is a beautiful little port city. The weather was nice. The local inhabitants said that it was in our honor, because usually it rains. We hurried straight to our accommodation on the island, 20 km far from the town across the bleak moors. Our hosts were very kind to us. In the past they had been missionaries in Bangladesh and they served us with very tasty food. They also became very dear to me. Then we soon went back to Stornoway, where the town hall had been prepared for the evening presentation (Blythswood also had a presentation there). A very kind man was expecting us, whom I very much enjoyed meeting. He was a member of the local town council. We started at 7.30 pm and finished at 10 pm. Quite a few people were present, because Levente’s presentation was advertised in the local press. They were interested and appreciative. We had discussions afterward while drinking tea… It was good.

March 18: After more that an hour and a half sailing we arrived at the Isle of Skye. This is a really wonderful place, I almost fainted with wonder as we drove through a beautiful landscape, among very high mountains. We stopped at the look-out spot where a scene from the Dracula film was made… the sea at the foot of the mountains... marvelous! After approximately an hour ride we arrived at our destination where a pastor and his wife were expecting us, a very sympathetic couple with five beautiful young children. The husband made delicious food, baked and cooked with his 12 year old son. That impressed me a lot. The children are educated to help in the household… wonderful.

March 19: Glasgow. Until now we travelled by plane and by ship, so travelling by train came next. We are in the train at this moment. The journey is longer that two hours. We came to grief, because our only European plug became stuck in a receptacle and if we can’t find somebody to help to take it out, we won’t have electricity anymore and that is a great problem. Well, to our sadness, we couldn’t get it out. We were found by the person who came to meet and guide us. Levente lamented for the stuck plug, and then went straight away to buy a new plug, and after much difficulty found one.

March 20: We have travelled by plane, ship and train and now travelling by bus came next. So, we were taken to the bus station. The way back to Inverness took more than three hours and we had time to enjoy the view (the buses in the UK are very comfortable). I sat in a front seat and just when I started to feel at ease the bus broke down… Well, I didn't give much thought to this and I wasn’t nervous at all. There were two passengers in the bus who were addicted to alcohol. I watched their tricky way of drinking whiskey from their vacuum bottle (they weren’t nervous either). About 35 minutes after the breakdown, another bus came which we had to get on. It was interesting for me that the driver was very courteous with the passengers, apologizing many times. All but three people could fit in the other bus and the driver offered those who would have to wait 15 minutes for the next bus the price of their ticket back. This was the moment when I noticed greediness in me. If it had depended on me, I wouldn’t have missed this 'business' opportunity... We were already an hour late, but the older gentleman who was supposed to meet us was still expecting us in Inverness. We went straight to the Blythswood Center and met the director and all the workers who were there. They stopped their work to honor our visit with their presence. I talked about my first meeting with God, and then they showed us their facilities, including the warehouse and the offices. They were very kind to us.

March 23: Today is the last morning in Inverness. D. will take me to do some shopping for those who are at home. I received a gift of 30 pounds, I am very thankful for it… God provides everything on time... Shopping and then off to the airport. I have to admit that I am as happy to go home as I was to come, partly because I know that I. is waiting for me and the trip was exhausting too, we didn’t slow down at all during the whole time we were gone.Taking off. London was very, very beautiful by night, because it was dark and it is spread over such a large area. I was already pleased with the flight, I felt safe and was happy to be flying home. The flight took two and a half hours, it was comfortable. We arrived at 10.15 at Ferihegy Airport in Budapest. My heart was filled with contentment, peace and thankfulness. I hardly believed until the last minute that it was going to be me who would go on this trip. Blessed be the gracious God for this trip (which I didn’t even dare to dream about).