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!