Brinkman Adventures - Review

I remember as a child listening to a radio station in the evenings and hearing Christian audio dramas. Of course this was long before DVD's and the internet! Imagine my surprise to find out audio dramas are still being made today. I admit, we really haven't ever used them much in our homeschooling because I have some hearing impaired children who find it hard to simply listen to audio without being able to read lips. But I recently was introduced to Brinkman Adventures that some of my other children listened to. I had actually never heard of them before since we always shied away from audio dramas. We were given Brinkman Adventures Season 4 to recently review.

The Brinkman Adventures are available as either a download link or CD's. I received the CD's. In the case, there are 4 individual CD's that each contain 3 episodes. Each episode is just under 30 minutes long. 

What makes this series unique is that it is based on real life missionary stories as told through the fictional Brinkman family. Sometimes details like names and such are changed for privacy and a few times fictional details are thrown in to emphasize the specific message each episode is trying to convey.

The audio comes across as captivating with many different actor voices playing the roles, including not only adults but even young children. Music and other sound effects also fill the background and make you feel like you are actually there and not just listening to dialogue. One thing I learned is that sometimes the actual missionary who lived the story being portrayed, actually plays their own audio role! My children and I thought that was pretty neat!

The 12 episodes are:

• A Paradise Lost  - God is in Control
• Remember Nhu - Persevering
• Aisha's Fear - Overcoming Fear with Love
• Heart Song - Tenacious Faith
• The Crashed Kitchen - God Doesn't Make Mistakes
• Crisis in the Congo - People Over Projects
• The Mysterious Palm Feller - Confronting Evil
• War of the Raccoons - Faithfulness in Work
• The Five Guys - Listening to God
• Toughest Man - Surrendering Everything
• Cambodian Quest - Going Deeper with God
• What Brings Us Together - Glorifying God in Every Vocation

Each episode is typically complete in itself so you don't need to listen to previous episodes to get the jist of the story. We typically either listened to the stories in the car as we ran errands or I would play an episode for my little ones while they quietly did an activity such as building with legos or playing with play dough. 

Season 4 was based around adventures the family experienced in Cambodia, Zambia, Russia, the middle East and areas around Africa. The first episode starts off with the mom being just weeks before her due date, tornado warnings and a whole host of nail biting experiences. There are moments that you chuckle over what the characters are doing and there are other times that sparked conversation with my children asking them what they would do in these circumstances or what they think God was trying to teach the Brinkman's through each journey they experienced.

Season 4 was inspired by Dr. Nik Ripken and Carl Ralston. Each story portrays God's faithfulness and shares teachable moments.

A neat bonus to the audio drama is the Real Stories page on additional information for each episode. It gives you back info and shares more specific details pertaining to each story. There are even additional links and videos that tie in with each story.

Overall, this is a well done series and if your family is into audio dramas, it is well worth checking out!