Got it!!!!!!

Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh I got my visa! I was all nervous last night, and some other students came over to encourage me and said things'll turn out ok, and they'll pray for me. Even the cook Khalil who's muslim and the shop-keepers opposite our monastery were praying for me this morning when I walked to the Ministry office. And I'm sure you guys did too. Owe everyone big time!

So they gave me a student visa valid for 1 year with multiple entries. That really sets my mind at rest and I can now concentrate on my studies without worrying. Aaaaahhhh what a relief. I walked up one and a half km and then 3 floors up to the Office, and there was a long line waiting to get in. When the doors opened at 8am everyone rushed in. I took a seat right in the front just in case if they couldn't pronounce my name right, I could at least hear a little better. Two koreans were ahead of me. Then it was my turn. The lady was nice. Asked if I was studying and if I wanted multiple entries on my visa. I said yes, paid 300 shekels and got my visa! I was so happy I couldn't stop grinning. Security guys must have thought I was nuts. Anyway they've seen me so many times there, each time rejected; this time they're pretty relieved for me too. See, God is not in a hurry, but when he works, he works!

I then decided to take a walk in Ben Yehuda - it's like Nathan Road here in Jerusalem. Open pedesdrian malls, no cars allowed, open air cafes, and shops of every kind. I haven't been here like since 1996. Some familiar shops are still around, like the ice-cream parlour at the corner, Steimatzky's bookstore and the cafes. But there're many new shops too - tattoo shops, and lots of mini-supermarkets. I was looking for a small heater but found none. Instead I found a quaint stationary shop right up (its all on a hill) at the junction fo King George Street (named after George V) and bought some stationary that I needed, like box-files, paper clips, a stapler etc. It was cheap - or better, it was honest. The prices there are not rip-offs like you'd find in some other shops. And the owner spoke very very British English, so it was fun to chat with him. And he was kind enough to arrange everything into one big bag (I bought stuff, believe me!) so that it would be easier for me to carry as I had to walk 2 kms back home.

On the way home, I saw an chinese lady walking on the opposite side of the street. You can't possibly believe how many chinese there are out here. Like every 20 people I meet, 1 is a chinese. And the lady was trying to catch my eye - and I thought "Oh No another Bible-bashing Christian" (almost all the chinese who are not working in the construction sites, are Zionist Christians). I was trying to avoid her but had to stop at the crossroads. And she caught up and it started - do you believe in Jesus? Are you saved? - and then what shocked me was how Zionist she was - she insisted that she was a Jew because only Jews can be saved; and the Messiah is Jewish, and only the Jewish State can bring about the 2nd Coming of the Messiah. Then she insisted that I too was a Jew, because God told her to come talk to me; and that I will be saved if I support the Zionist state. Well I was saved - I got my visa!!!!!!!!!!!! :) And she went on and on till I said I had an appointment - which was true - I had to meet Stefania the directress of Telepace Jerusalem. Escaped and - still very chinese, believe me, not quite a Jew yet!

Had a nice, short, business chat with Stefania and then went to the Holy Sepulchre to say Thank You to God; also borrowed the German lectionary because this evening I'm celebrating Mass in German with a couple of other students.

Then I got home and told everyone the good news. The professors were very happy and told me to put my mind in my studies NOW. So that's what I'm going to do NOW! And the rest of you kids, like Kris and the twins, you'd better study NOW as well!