The Brinkman Adventures Audio Drama {Review}


I have fond memories of listing to radio theatre with my older boys when they were younger, so I was really looking forward to giving my 3, 7 and 9 year olds the same experience with the Brinkman Adventures. We listened and enjoyed The Brinkman Adventures Season 2: Episodes 13-24 in the evenings with popcorn (instead of a movie for a nice change!), or on a road trip to make our trip more enjoyable.

The Brinkman Adventures Season 2: Episodes 13-24 MP3 download (also available on 4 CD's) is an audio drama that includes 12 episodes, or 5+ hours of listening. Each episode is about 25 minutes long and are geared toward the entire family. The episodes are stories of faith that are based on true events. In fact, after each episode, you are encouraged to go online to read the stories behind the stories.

Brinkman Adventures Review

The Episodes

You've heard of "finders keepers," well, The Mystery Ring teaches the Biblical principle of returning lost possessions to their owner, and the blessings that come from obedience. In this episode, the Brinkmans meet John and Donna Benti, former missionaries to Hong Kong.

Blue Hat and T-Shirt Bible teaches about God's provision and the importance of spreading the Gospel, as we hear John Benti and his wife tell the story of one of their missionary adventures in Hong Kong, their search for any remaining underground Christians, and God's miraculous provisions in their life. We also see God provide for the Brinkman family, too.

In How Big is Your God Part 1 and 2, the Brinkmans stay another day with the Bentis, and we learn the importance of believing in God for big things as John and Donna Benti continue to tell stories of their missionary adventures in China, including John's testimony of taking a somewhat presumptuous leap of faith (or was it?). It is a fun story of providence as we learn that we can't always see how God is working, but He is always working.

After a two day visit with the Bentis, the Brinkmans finally hit the road in Mexico By Bus. They are on their way to deliver the bus to missionaries in Belize. In this story, we find out what happens when their bus breaks down, and how God makes a way for them to get back on the road.

They finally make it to their destination in Treehouse Academy. We see the provisions from The Mystery Ring arrive with much needed curriculum for the missionary school, but will the school have to be shut down now?

In Pirates of Mayan Island, the Brinkman's go on an adventure to an island with an Ancient Mayan temple on it. What secrets and surprises await them? What danger? This adventure had my kids on the edge of their seat and also has a surprise ending.

The Brinkmans are involved in a sting operation, in Sapphire Slaves Part 1 and 2, in which two brothers, Fernando and Pedro, are being held captive as slaves in a sapphire mine in the jungles of South America. They, along with other children, are forced to dig tunnels to mine sapphires. Will an undercover operation from Mercy Justice Mission help save the boys? Will the boys trust them? Portions of these episodes may be intense for children under the age of 10.

In the next episode, Hadi is given a Bible by Ben, a missionary kid, but it may get them both in trouble, and now Hadi has an important decision to make. You will be both engaged and challenged by Hadi's faith in Hadi’s Choice.

An ancient castle in Burgundy, France just trapped Eon and Kate Brinkman in its tower. How did they end up there and what are they doing there at 3:30 in the morning? We find out in Castle of Secrets, where 30 missionaries have gathered for a retreat.  Ben, a missionary kid, is struggling because he lost his best friend, Hadi, when he became a Christian.

We listen to the exciting conclusion to the story in On the Run. The missionary families are on the last day of their retreat and continue to tell the story of their last minute escape from the country where they were serving, in which they were now fugitives. We are encouraged and reminded that we don’t always understand God's plan, but we can trust in God anyways. It is a wonderful story of providence in the life of the missionary family.

The CD download ends with a bonus song called Kate's Song. This is a pretty song that Kate wrote for her twin siblings that were lost shortly after birth. The Brinkman's don't understand God's plan in losing their twins, but they have a strong faith that helps them understand that God is in control throughout it all.

What We Thought

We really enjoyed the stories, found them entertaining, as well as edifying, and looked forward to hearing the Brinkman Adventures each night before bed, or on road trips.

These are positive Christian stories that are meant to encourage and edify. In each episode we are encouraged to go and make disciples of all the nations, to give ourselves fully to God, and be ready at all times to share the gospel. We also learn that missions is hard, but it’s good, and we are encouraged to pray for missionaries who risk their comfort and safety.

The download quality of the audio series is excellent. The sound is crisp, clear and high quality. Occasionally though, the voices or music would get too loud (shouting, background noise) or real quiet (when someone was whispering or talking from a distance), and I had to turn the volume up and down, to enjoy the story. But, the recording has good sounds effects, music, and is of overall good quality.

I liked that the episodes were only 25 minutes long, because it was easy to want to listen to an episode, knowing it wouldn't take an hour or longer. (I have some radio theatre programs that are 1-2 hours long, and I never get to them for that reason).

I think it is really cool that the stories are the real life adventures of the Brinkmans, but also star the Brinkmans! My only disappointment was in learning that the parents do not star in the program. They hired actors to play the parts of the parents. But, I didn't learn that until the end, so we still really enjoyed listening to these as a family and recommend them if you, too, want to provide your children with memories of listening to Christian audio drama.

Price:

Suggested Donation:

  • $25 4 CDs

  • $17MP3 download

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2 comments

  1. Glad to read the positive review! We received this in our My Father's World order for ECC this coming Fall.

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  2. That's so cool that they include it in MFW! I'm sure you will enjoy it - there are many ways it can be tied into your studies!

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