Audio dramas are my favorite, so I think I was the most excited to get the chance to review a complimentary copy of Brinkman Adventures Season 4 from Brinkman Adventures. This particular season was released back in 2015, season 5 was released last December, and the newest one (Season 6) will be coming out in November 2017.
This audio compilation can be purchased as a physical CD, or you could get the downloads instead, like I did. Either way, there are 12 episodes each at under 30 minutes long. This is perfect for listening to during road trips or during rest times. We also listened to one of the episodes as part of a Friday Fun Day activity.
There are so many great episodes included. The Brinkmans are a Christian family who go through real struggles and make real mistakes. They do their best and ask God for help, rely on Him for strength, and thank Him for his faithfulness. The radio drama episodes take listeners on a journey to “meet” Christian heroes. The missionaries and trail-blazers that are introduced are inspiring and interesting to learn about. We enjoyed looking up the different locations we learned about in the episodes on our big world map.
My favorite episode was the one called “Remember Nhu” where a young woman named Nhu was sold into slavery at a young age, and eventually rescued by an unlikely ally. The coolest part, to me, was that at the end of the episode, we learn that this is based on a true story and that Nhu herself actually did her own voice acting for the episode! It literally gave me chills.
The whole family enjoyed listening to Brinkman Adventures. We’ve reviewed Season 3 before, and I was happy we could hear more. The stories are perfect for kids and adults alike. This volume covered many different types of ways in which real people put Jesus first, no matter the cost. Because of this, some of the adventures were a bit heavy, but nothing was too scary or intense for my younger kids.
My older kids were interested to hear that the episodes are inspired by, and often very real accounts of true events and actual people. If you check out The Stories Behind the Stories, you are able to see some pictures and read the some information about the missionaries depicted in each episode.
Did you know that the characters actually play themselves? That’s right! The names may have been changed, but the real life modern missionary heroes are sharing their stories so that others can hear about what is happening or has happened around the world. There are so many persecuted Christians, even today, and their stories rarely make the news.
I like that there is a positive twist in each story. While they’re inspired by real events, many times there are a few changes made to help the story flow better, and that often involves a lighter account of parts of the story, or completely made up but fun details! My children and I finish each episode feeling inspired and also thankful that we are able to live our faith without the weight of fear that so many in the world must deal with.
There were some more light-hearted episodes, too. My boys liked the one called “War of the Raccoons” and if you ever listen to it, you’ll know why. Hint: Do you have any kids that are obsessed with at-home Nerf wars? Maybe you have a kid that likes to hunt and shoot? Check out that episode for sure!
I also really loved the “What Brings Us Together” episode. I’m a sucker for a great wedding story, and this one was a doozy. There were so many twists that I was worried the wedding wouldn’t even happen!
Thinking about my older kids growing up and starting their own families makes me a little sad. This sort of puts it in perspective, though. God has a special mate for each child and a special purpose for their lives together. I might as well get on board for that, right?! 🙂
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