My dear friends and loved ones, wherever you might be: The end of a small chapter of our history has arrived. We should all be very proud.
The countless moral and financial contributions that you have all sacrificed and given me have made this mission not only possible, but all of the many times that you have supported me along the way have made our mission a success.
You have all become part of my family and have been there during some of the hardest times of my life. Without your support, many times I thought that it would be impossible for me to continue and reach an end to this mission. When I began, I had no idea how many struggles that I would have to face. Between all of the foreign laws, paperwork and finances, there were many times that I did not think that I would be able to complete this mission. But then I would read your emails, or hear your sincere comments and phone calls and it would give me the courage and the energy to continue the struggle of flying the baby plane around our giant planet and educating the world about our beautiful country and its people.
Because of your support, 34 countries – their people, their news outlets and their government have now personally heard about our small country. 34 countries have been introduced and want to learn more about our people. Many people now understand the need for proper recognition of our independence. And many of those people don’t understand why we are not already officially recognized by their own countries.
We’ve accomplished an historic feat and I am grateful for the opportunity that I have been given to meet amazing and supportive people at every stop along this journey. I have made many friends for life and on top of that, I have been given the best opportunity in the world – to share with people about our beautiful country, our struggles and our people.
Thank you to the diaspora of family, friends, brothers and sisters whom I have met. Thank you for your hospitality and encouragement. Thank you some, for being with me during some of the most weakest times of my life.
During this last phase, I was so very happy to reach US territory again and my friends in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida gave me a welcome that I will not forget. My trip up the Eastern side of the United States was filled with similar welcomes in Washington DC, New York, New York, and Detroit, Michigan. Meeting friends and supporters while flying back to Europe was also inspiring. As soon as I met supporters in Reykjavik, Iceland I began to become more and more excited for home.
Landing in Lausanne, Switzerland was very emotional for me – but this was just the beginning. Folks in Zagreb, Croatia and everybody in Prishtina, Kosovo filled my heart with joy. Upon reaching Albanian territory, I could only see the magnitude of all of the work that you had done just to see my baby plane – N2807L – reach home as magnificently as possible. Words cannot express my thoughts at the time, and really, there were no words to say, because there were too many tears flowing at the time. As mentioned before, there were many times throughout this mission that I thought this bright day would never come.
Reaching our lands of Albania and Kosova felt like being in paradise. Flying through these great lands enriched my soul and filled my heart and mind with a sense that cannot be described. Memories of many years of your struggles are what pushed me to reach places,lands,countries and continents without the slightest
hesitation. No matter what unexpected issues or problems came up during the mission, I knew that I would never stop until I was finished sharing your story with each and every country that I had planned.
Many times in life you think of your accomplishments, achievements, fulfillments, etc. It would be impossible to give you all the most sincere description of the thoughts and feelings that I have when thinking about our mission, the reasons it began and how very many times I thought of my fellow countrymen and all that has been sacrificed before us by our mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters. There are no words that would be able to express just how deeply moved I have been to be able to serve you and represent you throughout this entire mission. The memory of this time during my life and all that it represents, will stay with me forever and remain close to my heart. And, though there were many struggles along the way, they seem to nearly disappear when I think of how blessed I am to have had all of you around for support. To know that I was able to play a small part in the struggle for our countries recognition and that I was able to use my skills as a pilot in order to honor all of those that have fought for our country in the past and all of you who continue in the struggle, is a feeling that is very overwhelming to think about. I am indeed a very blessed man.
May you all be blessed with joy and many more happy days to come.
Your brother, your friend,
James Berisha
