I have been an enthusiastic fan of audiobooks for as long as I can remember. Even as a small child, I loved listening to stories on records (does anyone still remember those?) for hours at a time. When I began teaching preschool as a young adult, I would play various audiobooks (now on cassettes, as the world progressed in technology, lol) during rest time. I still love audio stories, and now, as a homeschool mom, there is always an audiobook playing somewhere in our home. They make a great distraction, and make the more mundane tasks, like household chores, a bit easier to get through. They are also a must have for us on car rides, and we do find ourselves in the car quite a bit these days. I have passed on my love to my daughters as well, my 13 year old in particular. I am frequently barraged with urgent requests to make a trip to the library, so she can check out a fresh audio book.
Brinkman Adventures saved me at least one trip to the library, by providing our family with the digital version of Season 6: Underground Rising , the latest in their series. The Homeschool Crew has had the privilege of reviewing some of their previous seasons in recent years, but this is our first time around with the company. I'll tell you right up front...we are loving them! This newest collection is a little shorter than past episodes. Season 6 are approximately 25 minutes per story, with a total running time closer to 2 hours of material, versus about 5 hours of material, which is what other seasons have taken. That 25 minute time has been perfect for our family. Many of our car trips are in the general half hour time frame, creating a great opportunity to listen in full, without breaking up the story. If we 're at home, taking a 25 minute break to listen to a story was just enough time to relax and listen in between schoolwork.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this wonderful company, Brinkman Adventures is a radio show that retells actual missionary accounts through the fictional Brinkman family. Their hope is to inspire a new generation to follow Jesus Christ. They have a wonderful story that you can read about here . These are more than audio stories, to borrow a phrase from their site, these are "movies for your ears." Yes, they are! Actors, sound effects, music, those aspects are all included, and make for a compelling listening experience. When I listened to my first story in this series, I turned it on, with the intention of doing some other busywork in the background. I wasn't five minutes into the story, when I realized that I had stopped everything that I was doing, because it had completely captured my attention. Oh, I love stories like these, that have that ability to draw you in!
The lineup for Season 6: Underground Rising features episodes 55 through 60 and is as follows:
55.) Dutch Underground Part 1
56.) Dutch Underground Part 2
57.) Twice Born Fly
58.) I Wonder Why
59.) Free Burma Rangers Part 1
60.) Free Burma Rangers Part 2
Through these dramas, we went back in time and were given a glimpse of the life of Dutch couple Reng and Lynn VanKesteren, and what they did to aid other people in need during WWII, and their harrowing escape from the Nazis. This is a two part series, and my favorite out of season 6. I love learning about the history from this time period, and the faith and courage that so many ordinary folks displayed.
Twice Born Fly laid out what it takes to attain salvation through Jesus, and I found the young actor was very sweet and heart stirring. I liked the way that they provided an example of a "sinner's prayer" in a way that children can understand (and adults too, for that matter). There is a cute instance where the young character swallows a bug, and yes it did actually happen in real life.
I Wonder Why was my second favorite in Season 6, and recounts the story of the Wonder family, and how they came to travel to India as missionaries. These are the kinds of stories that I find so compelling, the ones where ordinary people follow God's call, but find that there is not necessarily an easy road ahead. This story tells of the discouraging circumstances that were a reality for this family, and the faithful way that they pushed through the difficulties, in order to obey the Lord. Ultimately, He did reveal Himself in amazing ways, through the healing of their son, who had previously had life threatening allergies, and in the transformation of the children that they had come to minister to. Fantastic testimony.
The last two, Free Burma Rangers, is a two part story recounting the journey of Dave Eubank from his childhood to his becoming a Green Beret in the Special Forces. They do warn parent of some intense scenes in the second episode, so parents may want to listen to this before their children do. I love the variety of stories that is included in this season, and because of that, most families should be able to find one that their children will find engaging.
The lessons don't end with the stories themselves. The website has a page of "Real Stories", that pair with each season. There are background stories for each individual story, as well as actual photos, information about the time period and culture, and many interesting details that pertain to them. Using these pages along with the audiobooks can make a meaningful, and enjoyable family devotion time and/or supplement to your Bible and History studies.
As a special offer to you, Brinkman Adventures are offering a 10% discount on their site, from October 10th through October 31. Use the code FALL10 when you checkout. How wonderful! I'm going to make use of this offer for our family.
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