Thanks Santa

YES! So after pitifully having to borrow 10 bucks from my 19-year-old brother to do some light wedding prep, I got a Christmas job.

 I have no spending money! Sad yes, but I'm not destitute. I sleep with a fully belly after praying for the many people in San Diego who have to sleep on the beach this time of year. Basically, even though I'm freaking out a bit about not having a job at school yet, I'm coping. The Lord provides!

So today, I was pondering the laws of physics. How could I get my car to Idaho with no gas? Because gas costs money, and I have none. Then HALLELUJAH! My prayers were answered by a sweet lady in my home ward offering me a small job that would just barely cover gas costs. This is not the first time that sweet sister has been an employer and answer to a prayer. During the awkward pretend years, she kept the cash flow coming by trusting me to babysit her children a few times a month.

So Toby the dog, we will be good friends this coming week. I'm so very excited!!

Let's hope our weenie dog Gracie doesn't become territorial, or we may have some major pet sitting issues.

Santa Baby

Dear Santa,

Is there a job for me in your sack? I've applied to so many places! I could be a good elf?! Please email or call to set up an interview. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

Merry Christmas,

Maddy McHale

P.S. I miss Daniel!!!! But I'm grateful to be home!

As Always, With Details to Follow

The Sea of Galilee from the Galilee Branch meeting place. 

Pretty garden with the Sea of Galilee in the background

Israel Kat feeding a river rat thing. This was from the Baptismal site on the River Jordan. 

Outside of the church on the Mt. of Transfiguration, Mt. Tabor

The three engaged kids! Daniel, Me and Leslie. Leslie's my roomate, and her fiance is on the Arabic study abroad in Jordan .

Infront of the triple gate at the Holy Mount. 

Daniel and I at Arco

ME!

Rockin the socks and Chocs while standing on Jesus rocks. 

For our Encinitas I Ward friends

For future Posterity. 

Standing on 1st Century Steps

Huge Ashlars

Planking on a pillar near a gate in Arco

Pinnacle

Thomas, Asia, and Devin making Donuts at the Shuk. They have the best chocolate filled donuts.

Daniel and Cam making a sandcastle

Me and the Mediterranean

Adam, Me and Kat 

Kristine, Katie, Adam, Lacey, Brielle, Shannon, me, and Daniel at the Orson Hyde Garden

View from Masada

Roman seige ramp

Me, Fur Elise, and Hot Lauren

Thomas in his Alligator shorts

Me and my skirt/coverup at the dead sea! This picture is dedicated to the Wilkins family!

Carter and I's caves near the Qumran caves

Daniel being all sultry and me being salty! We just came from the Dead Sea. 

By a church in Jerusalem

straight up blatant propaganda

"He is not here, for he is risen" From inside the Garden Tomb. 

Here are pictures a few pictures from Galilee, Qumran, Masada, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem. I would give more details about our latest adventures but I'm working on my last few essays for finals and this is as much as I am willing to procrastinate. 

Better Israel then Idaho!

Here is a super preview of our......

Engagement pictures!!!!!!

Our cute friend Kate Priece took a few shots for us. Thanks Kate! Enjoy Moms!!


Daniel and I thought it might be fun to take a few shots here where it is still warm and sunny. This is the better option when compared to cold, snowy, windy, and sunless Idaho.

Ancient Near East

The first hour ANE was what-I'm-going-to-do-when-I-get-home-list time. We also covered Bar Kohkba Revolt Judaism, which we've DEFINETLY gone over in Judasim class. My mind began to wander... to food. Most of the time I miss food more then people. Sorry, it's true! The BYUJC cook, Akmed, is an excellent cook, but I'm starting to head for the Pita bar more and more. It's nothing against his cullinary creations, just that my tummy has been sensative to all the dill. Plus, how many times can you eat potatoes rice and chicken for every meal? Not this girl. So here are a few lists, starting with FOOD!

Food

Delicacies I'm gonna make/make my mom make
Basil/Tomato/Honey/Harvarti grill cheese sandwich
Mega Pancakes with BACON
Enchiladas
Mom Salad with cheese and fruit
Spaghetti
Beef stroganoff
Fettachini Alfredo
Tortellini Cream soup
Daniel/Maddy Pizza
Hawaiian Haystacks
Berries
Fat Free Milk
Cheddar Cheese
Popcorn with M&Ms
Dr. Pepper

Holiday Food
STUFFING
Rolls
GRANNY'S HOT CHOCOLATE
Wassail
Christmas Cookies
Carmels
Pomegranate salad
HAM
Funeral Potatoes
Granny's soup


I would really, really like to eat here...
Roberto's- Supreme Nachos and California Burrito
Raul's- Taquito Burrito
Jorge's-Tortilla soup
Nico's- DELUX salsa
Bankok Bay
Mandrin Chinese
Elizabethian Bakery
Sushi on the Rock- The Don
In-n-Out

What I'd like to do!
Harry Potter reading/watching
Catch up on book reading
SLEEP
Decorate Christmas Tree
Plan Wedding
Drive!
Visit friends
Go see Christmas play?
Christmas at the Broberg's
Christmas Eve Brunch at the Nuckols
Christmas Music
Snuggle the Monahan Babies

Basically I'm going to be putting on layers fluff in California so the adjustment to Iceberg, Idaho won't be as chilling.

Best part about Galilee

Daniel asked me to marry him!!!!! :)


Here's how it happened!

         Monday, November 21, in Galilee I had class all day. Daniel visited Mt. Tabor ( Mt. of Transfiguration), Nain, and Tel Meggido. The weather had cleared up for their class, so they were able to enjoy the natural warm-spring at Gan Ha-Shelosha! After dinner we had a little lesson about Kibbutz life. Daniel and I decided that we would totally join a Kibbutz but the only kind that usually excepts non-Jews are communist ones, which changes things a lot. We had about a half hour to check emails before a group bonfire on the beach, so I checked to see if housing had emailed me back after the weekend.
        Sure enough they had and a request for a job interview was waiting for me! So I was not that bummed when they said the bond fire, or fire-bomb as the Israel Kibbutz workers called it was cancelled. The Kibbutz had it scheduled for the wrong day. I went to work scheduling the interview, and typing away on my laptop while Daniel patiently waited for a brief turn to check if his family had emailed him... hahaha He suggested that we go for a walk on the beach, just the two of us. Now to some people this might have been a obvious weighted suggestion. To me, it seemed like Dan just wanted to get away from our 80 roommates. That happens, even though we love them all. It's just hard constantly being around so many people all the time! Alone time is seldom had, and couple time is near non-existant. We knew that before coming to Israel, so we planned for that, but it's hard sometimes. I hurried along on the internet, then we walked the mile back to our huts, changed into warmer clothes then set off for the beach. I had been lovingly pestering him the entire first week in Galilee about purposing. Of course it was in a kind, funny way, but I was persistent! I knew the proposal was coming soon, but I didn't know when. I definitely didn't know it was coming that night!
      At first we walked through the reeds to get on the beach, but I kept getting freaked out by shadows and rustling. If you know me well, you've probably experienced my jumpiness first hand. After a quick course correction around the reeds, we walked along the shore of Galilee for a few minutes. We weren't too far from the Kibbutz when we found two chairs. Dan suggested that we sit for a little while. It was such a beautiful night! The sky was pure, no clouds, or mist. There was just a light wind that chilled us as we snuggled under a contraband blanket from the Jerusalem Center. We could see Tiberius, the biggest city in Galilee just a cross the lake, with its light's sparkling. Simply romantic! We snuggled and chatted about things we've chatted about before; love, marriage, our relationship. We may have kissed a bit too! Then Dan told me all the reasons that he loved me! Oh I was so happy at that moment, but then life got so much happier.
      Dan asked me if I wanted some "goodnight chocolate." Goodnight chocolate is an inside joke from our very first date. I said yes, so he pulled out two kinder-eggs. We both went to open them, when I noticed that mine was open already! I said "hey mine's open already! Oh my... it's a ring!! OMG this is happening! Are you proposing?" Then Daniel lighted onto one knee and asked me to marry him! The ring was a wood ring with a string around it. Dan said that he had tied one knot on the string, and that if I wanted to marry him I needed to knot it again! Because we had joked around so much about proposing and every time one of us said I want to marry you or will you marry me, the other would joke "are you asking for real?" I also knew that he didn't have the ring we had looked at before we left since this trip completely depleted his funds, so I asked him if this was for real in a very excited manner! He said yes, this was for real, so I said yes, knotted it, then kissed him! He then told me the lengthy process he had endured to even have this ring! This was the third attempt! Apparently there was a ring in Jerusalem waiting for us, and then one in the states. My sweetheart just wanted to put something on my finger! I told him I loved it, and that it was perfect! We both jumped up and and down, hugged and kissed and hugged and kissed, then jumped around a bit more. We were so excited! Holding hands we ran down the beach to tell the first people we saw. Our friends Justin and Allyson were watching a movie closer to the Kibbutz, so they were the first to know. We then ran up to the huts to tell our parents. Dan called his family and told his Mom, Dad, brother Nathan and William in one call! Then I told my mom, brother and sister and tried to call my Dad. At that point it was 1:30 AM, so we went to bed!!
     The next morning I told my roommates, then tried calling my Dad for awhile. By the time I made it to breakfast all of the students knew. They were all asking for the story, which was then promised to them after we all got on the bus.  So Dan and I each got some mic time on our respective busses. I actually told my story while Brother Kurl, the BYU director of the JC sat next to me. For anyone who's been to the Jerusalem Center in the last 17 years, you know how scared I was. I started out with "Well, as you know Daniel and I didn't meet here. We've been dating for 10 months..." hahahha
     That's just the start of our story! We're planning on April 14th in the San Diego Temple! See you there!! :)

Here's his story! :)

Daniel's Story

     So now this is Daniel, my side is pretty similar but I'll explain a little of what had been going on up until this point on my side. Lets just say that from the guys perspective it's stressful, very difficult and I hate (which is good) trying to sneak behind maddy's back to get something done without her knowing. So being here in Jerusalem as mentioned, there is no alone time and to be able to leave the center where we live we have to go in groups of three. Trying to do this without Maddy is extremely difficult without her get suspicious. So after a while of being here and seeing all the cheap crap rings I could buy and knowing Maddy, I decided that she needed something special. After a while of searching online for patterns and ideas online I found one that I really liked and got it ready to show a local shop keeper Jimmy to make me a wood ring for her for our engagement her.

        After swearing some friends to secrecy, attempting to go out in the city and being called back in by security saying it was potentially dangerous out, and working with finals I got everything squared away to have it made. Then with holidays and a bad estimate of when it would be done, it didn't get finished before we left to Galilee, my idea shattered.

        So I brought a backup ring with hope something would work out. There I came up with some ideas but being so limited with privacy, not being able to cook, or be in any place alone I felt a little hopeless. Asking friends for ideas and even messaging my sister was without luck in any solid ideas. But I did get some good suggestions that got my mind working.

       I carved the wood ring I brought with me and borrowed some string from a good friend Kelly for an idea I had. Trying to weave the string or do something with it that looked somewhat cool failed, and in the end I just twisted it to blend well and wrapped it around the ring and tied a knot in it and left enough string for Maddy to tie one as well.

       Now free time in Galilee was pretty much non existent, they tried to schedule our every hour so trying to find a time to propose by ourselves was vanishing from sight with everything they had us doing all the time. But fortunately the Kibbutz gods smiled down on me by scheduling the bon-fire on the wrong day!!!!!!!!! Yayayayaya!!!! I was super excited and had planned on doing it on the beach of Galilee in a more secluded spot from the main beach area where two chairs had been left for a while.

      Earlier the day before I bought a kinder joy which is slightly different then a kinder surprise and has a whole section/half of the egg for the toy. Light bulb. So the next day I bought two more kinder joys took the toy out of the one the best I could and put the ring in it. (Also there was no place to buy anything or have anything special because we couldn't leave the kibbutz and there was nothing there)

      Now it's after the Kibbutz meeting where they told us of there lives and how it had evolved over the years and there is no bon fire or fire bong. Maddy gets on her computer and making sure everything is in order with her job and housing. Meanwhile I get more and more antsy about the the whole ordeal. She permits me to check my email which i just hurry through my emails and suggest going out to the beach to be with each other and alone. After a little more prompting she agrees and we go change into some warm clothes and I grab my blanket and get everything else ready.

       We started walking down to the beach, while I tried to steer her to the spot it seemed impossible since every little thing scared her half to death. Finally we got down to the spot where two chairs were and we set them up right by the water looking towards Tiberias and Safed on the hill. It was super pretty and it was a clear night with the stars in the sky. We talked for a while, Maddy told me how much she loved me and why she wanted to marry me and be with me for the rest of eternity. (which i may or may not of instigated) Then I told her how much I loved her and why I wanted to marry her, looked forward to our future together and the rest of eternity and how I wasn't sure if it would be enough time to be able to be with her. Then we may or may not have kissed a bit since like before mentioned first time alone in who knows how long. I then asked her if she wanted some good night chocolate a joke from our first date doubling with Tyler Watts, a great friend.

         Of Course thinking nothing of it she thought oh sure, I would love some "goodnight chocolate." Taking the chocolate she started to open it and realized that it had been slightly opened confused she opened it more and found the ring placed inside and got really really really Excited. I got down on my knee asked her, "Madelyn Sue McHale will you marry me?" Then she started asking me, "Is this real? Are you really proposing to me?" I told her, Yes I am and I already tied one knot in the ring you have to tie the other if you really want to marry me. She tied the knot then I informed her she still hadn't answered my question and she excitedly yelled yes yes yes!!!!!!! We then jumped up and down yelled hugged and kissed then hugged and kissed some more and jumped up and down. We ran to tell the nearest people a ways down the beach and after telling them I realized I lost my phone in the run from my pocket. And if you know me well, it wouldn't be a story about me without me losing something. After a quick search we found it then ran to tell my roommates and call family to tell them.

       The next day everyone knew and wanted to hear the story so after the morning song, devo and prayer I told my bus, since i'm in a different class and bus then Maddy, our story. They all loved it and cheered and clapped, couldn't ask for more devoted friends and fans since we're all practically roommates here. All in all it was amazing even with all the stress, headaches and overwhelming feelings of Love for my Maddy. I love her dearly and hope that eternity will be enough time to be with the one and only Love of my LIFE!!!!!!

The Jerusalem ring. Hand carved!

Friday, friday gotta get to synagogue on friday!

So today is  Sabbath and it is so windy and wet in Galilee. The lobby at the Kibbutz has free wifi, so we've all become facebook junkies with 50+ new friends. hahaha I'm trying to not do to much on there so I don't waste all my time in "Jesusland" on facebook. As it is the end of the week I will do my best to give a good Galilee sitrep.

So on Monday we left the JC at 5:30 in the morning to fit in all of our activities and get to the Kibbutz in time for dinner. Our first stop was Bet Shean.

Bet Shean means house of safety in Hebrew. Which I find slightly ironic as every major nation in the Near East conquered this city. There are ruins from Greek, Egyptian, and Roman ruling classes. It's nice because now I've seen the ruins from major civilizations without even having to get visas! This trip is all about more for your money's worth. According to 1 Samuel this is where Saul and Jonathan's bodies were nailed to by the conquering Philistines. ehhhhh...

This city is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, but Jesus may have walked here en route to Jerusalem throughout his life. So I think it's perfect that we stopped here on our way to Galilee.

We had a grand time wandering about the ruins. We hiked up to the top of the Tel, and were rewarded with a grand view of what as been uncovered from digs city. Amazingly, what was uncovered was only 10% of the full city. We were so excited to be on our way to Galilee and study about Christ. When our teacher called Galilee "Jesusland" we laughed. When were driven to the Bet Shean dig on a disneyland tram... we were believers! hahahaha I was wearing my disneyland sweatshirt too which added to the magic!

Our next stop was Nazareth. The shrines and churches here mark the boyhood of Christ, and honor his earthly parents. We stopped at the Basilica of the Annunciation, which honors Mary. This church was built in 1968, on top of a Roman Catholic church, which was built over a crusader's church was was built over a Byzantine church. All have preserved a small grotto which might have been the home to anyone living during Christ's time. It may have even belonged to Mary's family!

K I'm going to go walk on the beach before lunch and church! I'll post more about our trip and

By the Sea of Galilee

I think I have figured out a partial reason for why the Lord taught here. It's amazingly beautiful! We've been here for a few days now, and this is probably been my favorite part of the trip. Yes, I say that everyday while we are here in Israel! Galilee has been extra special, and I'm so thankful to be here. Every so often I have to figuratively pinch myself, so I don't get caught up in the quizzes and papers that are due everyday. Tonight I will try to work on a blogpost detailing our adventures but here are some pictures and a preface.

There are 82 students here. To keep field trips manageable, they have split us up into two classes. To save money we only have one bus while we are here. So, that means that the two classes are not spending to much time together. It's a sad ordeal as we all love each other, but it's an opportunity to make friends in our classes!

Ha this is the only one that would load after an hour! Sorry!

Colonialism and Palestinian Nationalism

AHHHH

The student body of the JC has been all a hyped up as we work on our final paper for our Palestine class.

Now, it's 2:45 AM and I'm blog stalking Daniel's SUPER DUPER CUTE nieces and nephews while I'm pulling out page 3/5. Daniel's a rock star and is on page 4/5 while checking out google plus. YAY.

After this post I'm turning off the AirPort.

Between Me and the Breeze!

Here are some awesome pictures from a free day a few weeks ago. We went to West Jerusalem to go to the Israeli museum. This museum is way better then the dinky ones that I give tours for at BYU-Idaho. In fact I'd say it's comparable to the Smithsonian. For class we filled out a worksheet to go over the ancient history in the near east. It took me like 4 hours, and I didn't even get to see everything that was there in that one exhibit. I got to peek at the dead sea scrolls, as well as a giant 3-D map of Old Jerusalem. Daniel had already finished this assignment when he came with the original thirty while the rest of us were stuck in Phoenix, so spent time checking out the art exhibit. Before we left he took me around to show me his favorites! The museum has Monet, Van Gogh, and a few Warhol pieces!! It was super fun. Sorry, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum!

A Buster's hand, outside the Israel Museum. THE BEST MUSEUM EVER! I spent about 4 hours here, and want to go back for more!

      After the museum we went shopping with Suzy and Kara in the Old City to prepare for our Jordan trip. Suzy and Kara are my new favorite people to go adventuring with. Suzy flirts/haggles/harasses the shop keepers, while Kara just laughs at her antics. These two helped us to get a ton a free things. Baklava, water, juice, and a few gummies were freely given after a little bit of chatter. We had fun getting snacks for our trip. After trying on clothes, snacking and purchasing gummies, we hiked home.

Sadly, I couldn't justify spending 100 shekels on it!!

The next day, monday, we left for Jordan. It took us a few hours to cross the border but it wasn't that bad. We had to switch buses and go through customs, but it wasn't as bad as we expected. After a short drive we were at Mt. Nebo, where Moses overlooked Israel for the first time. This is also the supposed burial site, but the tomb has not been found. :)

From Mt. Nebo, where Moses overlooked the Israel for the first time.

That day we also went to another Herodian palace. This was the spot where John the Baptist was supposedly beheaded. Sorry I don't have pictures of it now! Check facebook in a few months, as my uploading capabilities are limited now.

That next morning we hiked into Petra! It was so FUN!!!!!!

Oh, just a Petra with the gang!

ME!

Israel Kat + Cat

Holy Grail anyone?

Camel face!

Visiting Petra was one of my favorite sites. We were harassed a great deal from the shop keepers, but we did make it out with most of our dinars. We hiked up to the monastery, and through the tombs of the kings. We were so sweat and gross by the end of it but it was so worth it.

So the next morning my roommate and I did not receive a wake-up call at 7:00 am as promised. Instead, we got a call at 8:06 from our teacher, asking us where we were!! So as fast as we could we threw on clothes, and ran out the door to get on the bus. OPPS! It was embarrassing, but I don't think Amy or I will ever solely rely on a hotel wake-up call again. That day we went to the Blue Mosque dedicated to King Hussein, the citadel, the Jabok river, and Gerash.

Tired boys at the mosque!

5 wives!

Jeff N, me and Caleb C.

Not touching!

At the Jordan Citadel

By the Jabok river!

Pillars at Gerash!

Group suicide at Gerash! JK Group jumping picture!

BEST SHWARMA IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! Even now my taste buds crave this delightful adventure!!

So after a long day of adventuring on our field trip, we decided that we absolutely had to go to this hole in the wall shwarma place. Every time that we walked by this places, there was a huge crowd of locals. We were able to get 4 delicious shwarmas for a little more then 4 dinars. So that's about a $1.50. TOTALLY WORTH IT. As we walked with the rest of our group, all four of us kept saying how good it was and that we wanted more. The others we were with wanted to go to a "cute" american diner with free wi-fi. So off we went. While we were there Daniel and I were enticed to buy a tortilla chips and spinach dip, because we were craving chips badly. We were so excited for yummy, perhaps even warm tortillas! Hour heightened excitement was not met, as our crunchy tortillas turned out to be old Cheese Doritos. :( And the dip? Onion and spinach soup, for a total 4 dinar!! So six bucks for the worst appetizer ever, and it gave us the runs. To get the nasty taste out of our mouths, we stopped by the Shwarma place again so we could get one to share!

UGH worst choice ever... Story to come!

On the Jordan side of the Jordan river with Dan the Man.