Day 115 (Friday Dec 14)
Liam and Marilyn Chambers welcomed me in to Bendigo and they helped me check off recommendation #15 – The Holiday. Here is what I wrote about it in my journal, and I’ll provide the link to the recommendation page that I wrote up a few days ago.
“We watched The Holiday tonight. It was a Christmas movie, and it was what I needed tonight. To show me that moving on can be difficult and painful and frustrating but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something greater beyond it. And that’s all I want, something greater than the pain, greater than loneliness, greater than what I know and have experienced.”
Continuing on from my journal entry – “Breath is becoming more and more compelling to me. Because the breath of God inhabits me, powering me, and giving me life. Slow, methodical, and deep. It describes healthy breath, but it also describes my God. A God who answers prayers after 10 years, a God who gives us what we ask (by giving us free will), even if it isn’t the best for us, a God who allows us to make mistakes and then reminds us He has been watching, waiting, and guiding us the entire time.”
“And so we breathe, but when we want to center, or calm, or think, we slow down, breathe deep, and let oxygen permeate our lungs…complex reactions and processes that God has designed and worked in and through for millennia.”
Day 116 (Saturday Dec 15)
Liam is a Buddhist, which was an awesome coincidence because I had been wanting to visit a Buddhist monastery on my adventure. They just happened to have one in Bendigo, of all places! We had lunch there and then explored the grounds.
Lunch! 
Jalebi – Deep-fried flour soaked in sugar syrup 
Amoghapasha 
A trinity of prayer wheels!
Tsa-Tsa’s 
A teaching room 
7 lamps 
Lampstand 
Green Tara – a female bodhisattva
Walking along, there was an area that was designed to make sure you didn’t take things too seriously, which is a good lesson to learn about life
A GIANT prayer wheel! 
A small pond where one can meditate or reflect (or even observe the reflection)
Eventually, we found our way to the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. It has the following objectives:
- To inspire people to seek a peaceful and spiritual path.
- To be a pilgrimage place for Buddhists from around the world.
- To provide a refuge of peace and serenity for all and especially those in need.
- To help explain Buddhism to anyone interested.
- To provide a temple venue for major teaching events and seminars.
- To be of service to as many beings as possible
Work is still ongoing 
The Jade Buddha 
The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion 
“Tummo” the Dragon
In the cafe, they also had a butter sculpture of what the completed Stupa would look like, a short video presentation, and a relic room!
On the drive home, I saw some kangaroos…
That night, I worked on some knitting and coloring while Liam and Marilyn watched Notting Hill. I finished the cover for my !REMIXED! playlist and also took a picture of all the quotes I had colored up to this point. These have all become playlist covers in Spotify.
Day 117 (Sunday Dec 16)
I attended a baptist church in the morning and then met Anne and Charles, the couple I met in Greymouth, NZ right after Gloriavale. They took me on a short bushwalk with their dogs Artemis and Nellie and then we enjoyed a some tea and muffins at their house.
That evening I took my first GRE practice test. Thankfully, I did decent on it. which made me feel confident I could pass without studying very much. I also read more of my recommendations.
Day 118 (Monday Dec 17)
Liam and Marilyn drove me an hour into the countryside to see some silo art. Many grain silos that are no longer used have been turned into murals. They were quite impressive.
Afterwards, we grabbed some coffee and then headed back to Bendigo. That afternoon, Marilyn took me to the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Our next stop was the Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens surprised me because they had a sizeable fruit bat population living in the trees.
We tried to do a Goldmine tour (Bendigo was originally a goldmine town), but I wanted to do a longer tour that wasn’t offered on this day. So instead, we visited the fountain and the city center.
I also recorded My Story Episode #23 – A Forgotten Anniversary
And to cap off the day, we watched Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I had never seen it before, and since it takes place in Australia, I thought it was the perfect time to watch it! It was very entertaining and I’ve realized I’ve watched quite a bit of drag on this trip (multiple seasons of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, my drag night in Dunedin, drag queens in Melbourne, and this movie).
Day 119 (Tuesday Dec 18)
My time in Bendigo had come to a close. Tuesday morning, I boarded a bus back to Melbourne, where I would catch a flight to Sydney. I did manage to record another podcast episode this morning, My Story episode #24 – What Do I Want?
I recorded a video farewell while waiting for my flight at the Melbourne Airport. Then, I had some Macca’s for lunch…the golden arches on my fries made a 3 and my receipt was #103! It’s fun being a trinitydreamer!
And with that, I boarded the plane for my month in Sydney. I had lots of fun in Bendigo, and I especially appreciated staying with Liam and Marilyn. They were very gracious hosts, and we also had lots of meaningful conversation, movie watching, and fun exploration.
Song time! Thanks for reading. The song comes from tomorrow’s song (January 17th) on my Dependence playlist. The music video has lots of color, fun dancing, and a great message about love.
Never felt like this
Prayers have been answered
Memories I won't forget
Always blind to see
Your sweet, sweet loving, won't you put it on me?
Keep me coming 'cause you're all that I need
You give me love, I'll give you everything that you want
As long as you love me