Chinese Consulate

Or, to use the full title, the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China.  (Sorry, no pictures this time.  I left my camera behind, which was good, because they are not allowed inside.)

Today I returned to the big house on Geary & Laguna, and this time I actually made it inside the visa office.  Appropriately enough, as I approached my destination the second time around, the first visible sign of the Consulate's location was not, as before, the flag of the P.R.C., but a long line of people extending from mid-block (where the door of the visa office is located) almost to the corner.  I had walked from the BART station to save on bus fare.  It's about 1.5 miles, slightly uphill, not a difficult walk for someone like me.

I arrived at about 12:45, and lined up behind a gentleman who was clearly not Chinese, and we chatted for a little bit.  The line wasn't moving, because the office was closed for lunch.  At 13:00 we were allowed in, after a security screening.  The number system wasn't working, which actually didn't surprise me too much, so I got in the visa line, which was clearly labeled in English (and, I presume, in Chinese as well).  I had a pleasant conversation with the woman behind me, and just as I was about to run out of yarn on my knitting project, I got to the front of the line.

The woman behind the window checked over my papers, taking my passport and a color copy thereof, taking the application with pasted passport photo, and the copies of the working permit and letter of invitation.  (She looked at the originals and let me keep them.)  She showed me that I needed to sign the application, which I did, and gave me a ticket to pick up my visa on the 29th (Friday).  She did not take payment at that time.  I was told I would have to pay when I picked it up.  She kept my passport, as expected.

Having read some negative reviews online, I was mentally prepared for a huge hassle and runaround.  I must say, I got out with rather less trouble than I expected, thank God.

Prayer Requests
First of all, praise God for helping me resolve that personal issue that I mentioned several posts back.  I just had to ask for help, as it says: "Ask, and you will receive."  (Thanks also for the help that I received, you know who you are.)

Also, praise God for a relatively painless trip to the Consulate and the successful submission of my visa paperwork.

At the same time, please pray for my return trip on Friday and the timely issue of my visa at that time.  In addition, please continue to pray for the rest of my preparations, which are numerous and sometimes complex.  You'd think I'd never done this before!

Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.