Flying for Kosovo

I’m finally on my way to Tanzania.  This country has been on my mind since I was a child.  Growing up, I would enjoy watching television stations like the Animal Planet and would sit in amazement at all of the powerful and beautiful creatures that we share the planet with.  I would daydream about seeing all of them someday, in wild and exotic places like Tanzania.  Places like this have fascinated me my whole life. The other reason that I’m excited to visit this country is because I have... more

Though I was sad to see Mauritius go, it was time to move on to another country, but I had a hard time trying to decide which ones to visit out here in the Indian Ocean.  I wanted to make sure that my choice would be the most beneficial to our mission.  The other hard part was the fact that traveling out here from island to island seems to be more difficult than you would think. I am guessing that there must not be that much traffic in between islands in this area, except for the main ones that... more

My friends, let’s get the most important question out of the way: Mauritius is most definitely a true vacation destination.  You could absolutely find everything that you need here in order to have an enjoyable, relaxing holiday.  Whether your with friends, family, or even alone, this country should definitely be at the top of your travel list and I recommend a visit here at least once in your lifetime. I don’t want to sound so sure of myself, but after traveling as long as I have, you start... more

Before I start to discuss this country in detail, I must first share with you all some of my preconceived notions.  We all have these ideas in our ahead about what the world is like and how things are supposed to be.  With myself, I have found that my early upbringing in Kosovo and my later upbringing in Switzerland have shaped the ways in which I view our world.  Further, those two early experiences were very different from each other and have caused me to constantly open my mind and re-educate... more

After leaving Malawi, I began my long flight to Comoros. Since I am still in the Southern hemisphere down here, the winds travel from East to West, which is contrary to what I’m used to when flying up in the Northern hemisphere. This means that today, I will be flying into headwinds, which is not great news. Not only that, those headwinds will be coming at me while I’m flying over the Indian Ocean in a single engine airplane. I am not looking forward to this. My dear friends and followers: after... more

I was quickly approaching the expiration date of both my certified flight instructor license and my medical health certificate, which needed to be kept on file back in the USA and required an updated physical exam.  These two documents are necessary for any pilot and need to be up to date at all times due to professional standards that are set and must be followed.  If I were to let my license or health certificate expire, then it would be the end of our mission folks and a lot of extra time and... more

Dear friends, sometimes it feels like progress is being made at a much slower pace than I would like.  One thing that I can say for sure though is that we are finally heading northbound towards Europe.  After so many struggles and difficulties, this thought brings me some peace of mind. Malawi is one of those great nations that have already recognized our independence, so my visit here will be one of gratitude.  Remember, part of the promise of our mission is to visit nations that have already... more

My dear friends: though some of the information that I have for you is not directly related to the mission’s overall goal, I oftentimes find it necessary to share some of the daily struggles that I face in order that you might better understand the context of our mission work.  Here in Zimbabwe for example, I was shocked to learn that they are continuing to struggle with appropriate currency and don’t even use one that is their own.  There are currently four different currencies being used... more

Very short distance today between Swaziland and Mozambique, but there is a huge difference in the infrastructure, organization, road system, cleanliness, etc.  The changes between these two countries are quite noticeable.  I suppose that part of this may be because Mozambique is a much larger country with many more people in it.  It’s comparable in size and, whereas Swaziland had a population of a little over a million people, Mozambique has well over 22 million.  I would imagine that it’s... more

This country is beautiful, clean, with a nice location.  The topography is that of some mountainous areas along with much farmland.  The infrastructure is great and the people are also very nice and friendly here.  The weather here was great upon my arrival in the mid afternoon.  I was able to enjoy some of the nice countryside by taking pictures during the entire time that I was here. This country is very small in size.  Though it is a little bigger than Kosovo, it has nearly ½ of the people... more

Compared to some of my very long flights, I feel like I’m going across the street here when I only have to fly from Maseru, Lesotho to South Africa, which is just across the border.  After just a few minutes, I am in South African airspace and its time to say goodbye to Lesotho (a country that I will never forget). I could already start to see a huge difference in the amount of air traffic between the two countries.  This is by far the busiest airspace that I’ve encountered Africa so far here... more

This amazing country looks very similar to places Austria, Switzerland, or even Colorado in the USA.  It is full of mountains and valleys and, unlike some of the other countries that I have visited, I actually see lots of lakes and rivers below.  I could not believe the beauty that my eyes were seeing.  I never would have imagined that this country would look so magnificent.  It is all very nature and wild looking with beautiful sunshine (which makes it better for me to take lots of pictures). Like... more