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Apr 26, 2014

The Brinkman Adventures - An Exciting Review

We take fairly long trips as a family several times each year.  Usually, we take some DVDs to watch when we travel; the same DVDs every time we travel.  Yawn!  I love audio dramas and books on tape.  I like painting my own pictures of events, playing my own movie in my mind.  The boys aren't generally interested in the same audios as I am, if you can imagine.  I was excited to see The Brinkman Adventures come up for review through the Schoolhouse Review Crew, just in time for our traveling "season."  These audios actually caught my eye about a year ago and were on my ever longer short list of Stuff I Want for school.  I received the digital download of The Brinkman Adventures Season 2: Episodes 13-24.

Brinkman Adventures Review

 The Brinkman Adventures feature a real life family (names have been changed) who experience a lot of fun and some heartbreak.  Their stories are woven into the true stories of real missionaries all over the world.  In season two, the Brinkman's meet "John Benti" who was a missionary in China.  The family stays with him and his wife where they learn about the miracles of God's provision in China.  The first four episodes are about the Bentis. The next three episodes follow as the Brinkman family travels onto Belize to visit Pastor Jim and Jenny at the Treehouse Academy.  There they have a pirate adventure!  In Sapphire Slaves, parts one and two, Jack and Michelle Brinkman are later called to assist an organization called MJM which rescues slaves and helps them find jobs and protects them from being enslaved again.  They wanted to show that slavery still exists and there are Christians out there doing something about it.  The last three episodes feature the story of the King family on mission in a country that can be dangerous for Christians.

I was familiar with one of the missionary stories represented in this season.  It's referred to as the T-Shirt Bible in episode two.  It's an incredible story of God's provision of one single Bible as requested by a Christian woman in China.  On the page for that episode, you can see some really interesting linguistic information about Chinese characters.  I recommend taking a look at them.

You can read the true missionary stories The Brinkman Adventures are based on, but I recommend you listen to them first.  They carry a Spoiler Alert.  The names of the missionaries have been changed to protect them and their work.  One episode even takes place in the made up country of Bazakistan to protect the real people involved.  You are invited to write to the real missionaries via The Brinkman Adventures website.

Each 26 minute-ish episode features a theme to focus our thoughts above; evangelism, obedience, love of siblings, etc.  8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

The Brinkman adventures are suitable for family listening, however, this season had three episodes with a warning that portions of the story may be a bit intense for younger listeners and the under ten crowd should listen with their parents.  My children (seven and nine) both heard two of those episodes (Sapphire Slaves, parts one and two).  I paused them frequently to clarify, answer questions, or just to lessen the tension for a moment.

Xavier has been playing "Brinkman Adventures" with his toys for days.  Once he got the idea in his head, he began acting out the more exciting parts of his favorite episodes. The boys are daydreaming about their very own little treehouse school (a work in progress).  These audio dramas will definitely be a part of our summer travels this year.  In fact, we've already listened to some episodes a second time.


Over five hours of wholesome family entertainment is available for $25 (includes shipping) on four CDs or $17 for the MP3 download.  Season one is priced the same.

You can listen to episodes 1 and 9 on The Brinkman Adventures website.  You'll have to do a little searching to find episode one.  It's a hidden treasure hunt.  Good luck!  

Season three is in the making right now.  We can't wait for their next adventures!  I'm sure you and your family will enjoy these exciting audio dramas, too!

Find The Brinkman Adventures on Facebook.


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