>There are people in no less than three countries right now working on helping us to put together our dream wedding. “Dream” in this case does not have anything to do with “Expensive,” thank goodness, due to the generosity and kindness of many, many friends and business associates.

People always marvel when I tell them stories of knowing or having met people in or from countries all over the world. And I just want to make them understand that it’s not that difficult. It requires stepping outside of your comfort zone, for sure. And it requires having something interesting to talk about or at least wonder about — but it’s not that difficult. What you will discover is that we have countless things in common with people all over the world. And you also will discover that it makes life a little bit easier on you. You begin to ask questions and do some research and information and bewilderment just comes tumbling forth. My friend David called me last night to find out if he could take a brand new gas-powered generator to Eastern Europe on a mission trip to do some construction work with his church. His primary concern was getting it back onto the plane to return home because after having been there, it will have fuel residue in its system. Why call me? Because he knows I will find out. And I will find out as quickly as possible. I hung up the phone and called my sister, who is an internal consultant for a major airline. She told me he could not even take it over there new because during manufacturing, the companies run fuel through the never-used machines to confirm that they pass quality control. Not coincidentally (I don’t believe in coincidence. Or luck, for that matter), she had just completed Hazardous Materials training the DAY BEFORE!

So I called David back, broke the news, and I (and he, too, I’m sure) began to brainstorm other solutions. So when I woke up at 5:00 am today (involvuntarily, mind you — it’s a Saturday), it was the first thing on my mind. So I began to research alternatives. And I learned that CAT is a huge business all over Europe, and they have stores and rental facilities and manufacturers as well. So i emailed them to see what solutions they might be able to offer so that the missions team can have the power they need to run their high-energy electrical construction tools while there. I just love that stuff!

Anyway, all of that to say that there are ways and means to do the things that you want to do — you just have to be imaginative. You have to learn to think divergently. You have to learn to troubleshoot your idea BEFORE you execute it. You have to think of everything that could go wrong. I used to think this was being pessimistic or overly critical. It is absolutely not. It is being realistic and sensible. It does not make being told “no” any easier. But it makes it more understandable. Try it, you’ll like it!

The bottom line is: just ask. They can only tell you “no.” And the might be so impressed by your boldness that they just say “yes.”