Audio Missionary Drama from Brinkman Adventures
We have been listening to Audio Missionary Drama selections from Brinkman Adventures. Below is information and our reviews on Season 2: Episodes 13-24, Season 4, and Season 6. We were provided audio files for review purposes as part of the Homeschool Review Crew. All opinions are our own.
The boys and I have enjoyed reviewing different volumes from Brinkman Adventures. It really is true that real-life stories can be amazing. While a great author can use their imagination to create fantastical stories, there are plenty of times when life is more interesting than art.
About Audio Missionary Drama from Brinkman Adventures
Taking true missionary stories and putting them into the context of one fictional family, the Brinkmans, is what this company does.
While they may reference a missionary from the past, the stories told in their adventures are modern missionaries braving places in our world now.
The stories are told through the format of radio drama. This means you not only hear each character read their lines, but you get sound effects to help spark your imagination.
Beachglass ministries, a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization, is behind the Brinkman Adventures. Through them, they hope to inspire others to enter the much-needed field of missionary work.
Season 2 Information
Season 2 has the Brinkmans traveling to Mexico and hearing stories from Christian missionaries along the way.
The 12 episodes are:
The Mystery Rin
Blue Hat and T-Shirt Bible
How Big is Your God (2 episodes)
Mexico by Bus
Treehouse Academy
Pirates of Mayan Island
Sapphire Slave (2 episodes)
Hadi’s Choice
Castle of Secrets
On the Run
Episodes in Season 4 of Brinkman Adventures
Listeners are transported to Cambodia, Russia and the Middle East while learning about modern missionaries like Dr. Nik Ripken and Carl Ralston.
Episodes in Season 4 are:
A Paradise Lost
Remember Nhu
Aisha’s Fear
Heart Song
The Crashed Kitchen
Crisis In The Congo
The Mysterious Palm Feller
War of the Raccoons
The Five Guys
Toughest Man
Cambodian Quest
What Brings Us Together
Season 6: Underground Rising
This new season brings you 6 more episodes from the Brinkman family.
A fictional family serves as a cornerstone for the twenty-six-minute episodes. Each episode is written to be a compelling drama that imparts a lesson centered around a Biblical theme.
Season 6: Underground Rising Episode List:
Dutch Underground Part 1
Dutch Underground Part 2
Twice Born Fly
I Wonder Why?
Free Burma Rangers Part 1
Free Burma Rangers Part 2
Like previous episodes, the current travels of the Brinkman family intersect with someone who provides a tale from days gone by.
The season starts with them learning of missionaries in Holland during Nazi rule. This story comes from their great-grandparents who had to choose whether to do what was right or do what they needed to do to stay off the radar.
It ends with the story of the Free Burma Rangers who attempt to save a Burmese village from destruction.
Two shorter stories are found between those 2 part tales. One features the Brinkman family in Wisconsin while the other showcases a missionary family in India.
You can learn more about the real stories featured in Season 6 on the Brinkman Adventures website.
Our Thoughts on Audio Missionary Drama from Brinkman Adventures
We have truly enjoyed listening to these stories. My boys never cease to be amazed by the lengths some missionaries will go to fulfill God’s call to spread the Gospel.
Each time we listen to an episode, I plan for questions and discussion about the challenges faced by the featured missionary. This always includes how they would be scared to do the same thing.
Season 2 Reviewed
Each of the boys who listened with me had a different take on this series. While they did not try to bolt from the room the second the story began, they also were not chomping at the bit to hear the next story. Also, I found that they sometimes thought I’d accidentally skipped an episode when they couldn’t connect the dots to see how the journey of the Brinkmans and the stories they heard from other Christian missionaries flowed.
But, I can say that the way the stories are delivered with different people delivering their ‘lines’ in a way that seems more like getting a sneak peek into their lives was far more engaging than some audios we’ve listened to in the past.
One of my more skeptical teens thought parts of the stories seemed too far-fetched. This led to some discussion about how many places where missionaries travel are quite different from the world as he knows it.
I think he’s succumbed to a view which is commonplace in many youngsters I meet today….that persecution of Christians is something that happened in the past.
The other ‘sticky’ point for him is that the topic of young versus old earth was mentioned. As we are not truly in either ‘camp’ for that debate, it is often an obstacle in some Christian materials we review or have used in our homeschool. However, there was not a strong push for that particular notion in the episodes rather it was mentioned in passing.
Other aspects of the family’s faith which did not align with our own beliefs were not as disconcerting to the boys as we’ve had those discussions multiple times in the past.
I will say that as a mom I am really impressed with the website for Brinkman Adventures. I loved finding the high-quality line drawings for some of the episodes which you can print out as coloring pages for the kids. I do find that they enjoyed the stories more with a coloring page to occupy their hands.
The ‘Stories Behind the Stories’ section of the website is incredible. Here you will find out more on the story behind the stories shared in the broadcasts. And, they often link to more information about the area of the world or way that a particular culture views the world.
As for their hesitation over listening with me, I think the upside of audiobooks for our family has always been their ability to occupy their attention and mind when we’ve been driving. Sitting together in the living room to listen is different and other pursuits were vying for their attention. So, I am now looking at how to listen from the iPad in our van in the hopes that the delivery method improves their reception to the stories.
Season 4 Review
My youngest is enthralled with these.
If I ask him to tell me about a particular episode, he’ll start recounting it all with an excited voice.
We have listened to a few of these together. But, for the most part, he has been the lone listener.
It all stemmed from his becoming impatient with me to sit down with him. Instead, he commandeered my computer (with the mp3 files) and listened on his own while snacking and drawing.
J’s thoughts:
“I really like the episode, A Paradise Lost, with the storm. It was so crazy with people looking for the kids and the storm raging on with the mom giving birth that night, too.”
“Remember Nhu was neat. I liked when a lady says “That not me!” with a strange voice. I just didn’t know why it was only helping girls as there might be boys who need help, too.”
Season 6 Review
The audios are well done. I was surprised at how good the accents were for the Dutch Underground episodes. However, I saw that for this set they found people in the Netherlands to do the voices. Coupled with the typical background noises and transitions between scenes, and it makes for an entertaining and enlightening listen.
Picking a favorite episode is a challenge. World War II is a fascinating topic in our house with the whole family reading books and watching documentaries about that dark time in our world’s history. Like other tales of those who hid Jews, these episodes include how the Germans used ration cards in an effort to control the population. Without them, you could not obtain food. It was one way to make hiding Jews more difficult (as you would not have enough food for your family if you gave it away.)
Near misses of being caught are shared in the story including one of the brothers speeding through a German checkpoint to avoid capture. How terrifying it must have been to see bullets whizzing past your vehicle, yet not one hitting you.
The episode Twice Born Fly did have a particular appeal for me as we have spent over 8 years in Alaska. While it has been a while, Homer is a location we’ve visited in the past. The dramatized dream is based on a dream of sending crabs from Kachemak Bay, with the crabs changed to license plates.
I Wonder Why? is an episode that caused us to talk about possessions and how much of what we have is not truly needed to live. Rather they are wants. However, I don’t see my boys wanting to give up their video game systems anytime soon to travel to a distant land as a missionary like Sam does in this story.
Finally, Free Burma Rangers appeals to my boys as they have sometimes talked of being in the military and fighting the bad guys. Hearing about someone who trained as an Army Ranger, yet now works to rescue those persecuted in Burma was an interesting mix for them.
A Parent’s Thoughts on Audio Missionary Drama Stories
As a Christian parent, I am thrilled to have my boys exposed to these stories. It is easy to think of missionaries living in the past. Yet, many places in our world need the light of Christ brought to them! I’d venture to say that there is an opportunity to do that even in our communities.
It is through these stories that my boys can see that Christ’s call for us to spread the Good News is meant for everyone. And, that some locations are still quite hostile towards Christians.
I also like that each episode has a general theme associated with it. There are many things that are common in peoples’ lives such as trusting God, listening to Him and ultimately surrendering everything. Those are the types of themes found in this missionary stories.
And, as my youngest grows a little more mature, I am starting to share with him the real stories behind each of the episodes. He has a decent grasp on the difference between fantasy and reality now. And, I do not do him any service by avoiding talks over how the world really is.
Slavery still exists. Some areas have a ban on any religion not sanctioned by the government. Natural disasters can wipe away lives in an instant. To deny these and other truths is to do a disservice to all.
Final Takeaway Thoughts
While we may never head overseas to be missionaries like those people in the Brinkman Adventures, we can actively pray for them or do other things that assist their missions. And, we can be light to the world by living out our faith.
Listening to missionary stories like these from Brinkman Adventures is another way to open up the world to your family. And, they just may open up discussions about faith and our call to live as Christians in a secular world.
At a minimum, your kids may be entertained and educated in the process.
Is there someone in your house who would enjoy listening to Audio Missionary Drama selections from Brinkman Adventures?
Have you ever explored this family’s offerings?
Don’t just take my word for how we found this to be. Visit the Brinkman Adventures post on the Homeschool Review Crew website to see what other homeschooling parents thought about this resource.
