Brinkman Adventures

Kate: Oh Caleb, do you remember when we thought the mafia was down the street, silently blowing up cars?

Caleb: Yeah, weird how we had identical imaginations.

Uncle Jonathan: You're probably wondering what we have up our sleeve for you this year. You'll be divided into two teams. One team will be cleaning and painting, and the other team will do some demolition.

Kate: This sounds great. I don't want to be in charge. Nobody likes the boss.

Nancy: I'll be happy to lead. Then I can tell you what to do.

Herman: I sure appreciate you coming out to help me.

Ian: Whoa, are these things safe?

Nancy: You call this ice cream?

Isaac: Are you sure about this?

Caleb: It'll be fine, don't worry about it.

Beachglass Ministries: And now, the Brinkman Adventures.

Uncle Jonathan: We're here! Everybody out!

Caleb: Come on, Micah, I have you.

Micah: Is this it?

Kate: Yep, we made it.

Micah: Do they have a dog?

Uncle Jonathan: Yep, her name is Ember. But don't worry, she's nice.

Micah: I don't like dogs.

Uncle Jonathan: Grab the diaper bag. Here you go, buddy.

Aunt Kitree: You made it to Alaska! Good to see you, sis.

Uncle Jonathan: Hey, guys.

Beachglass Ministries: The family has just arrived in Homer, Alaska for a four-day mission conference. They'll be staying with Jonathan and Kitree Walker and their four kids. Uncle Jonathan serves as pastor of the church hosting the conference. Let's join them around the dining room table as the two families reconnect.

Kate: I can't believe we're all here.

Micah: Aunt Kitree, you have red hair like my sister.

Aunt Kitree: That's right, sweetie. Your sister is named after me.

Micah: Oh.

Caleb: Caleb, do you remember the tree?

Uncle Jonathan: Will you ever let me forget? I don't think I'll ever forget.

Aunt Kitree: Have I heard this one?

Uncle Jonathan: Not sure. Remember the summer Caleb stayed with us?

Aunt Kitree: Yeah.

Uncle Jonathan: We're sitting around the table having dinner, and Mom says, "Is something burning?"

Kate: Yeah, and Jack says, "No, it's just someone grilling."

Uncle Jonathan: Later that night, I'm working down in the basement, and Kate comes down with these big eyes. She says, "Dad, there's firemen in the front yard."

Kate: No way.

Uncle Jonathan: Yeah, so I go up there and sure enough, it's dark by now. The streets are lined with fire trucks, the neighbors standing in their front yards, which are illuminated by the flashing red lights.

Kate: And there are firemen swarming around our front yard. I can still remember smoke pouring out of the hole in the maple tree like a chimney.

Micah: What happened?

Kate: Caleb and I threw fireworks down it.

Caleb: You threw fireworks down it. I knew that would happen.

Kate: Then why didn't you say something?

Caleb: I don't know. I guess I didn't want you to be mad at me.

Uncle Jonathan: That explains that picture with you and the fire chief. What time does the conference start tomorrow?

Aunt Kitree: 9:00 AM.

Uncle Jonathan: Yikes. I hate to break this up, but maybe we should start getting ready for bed.

Caleb: Yeah.

Uncle Jonathan: You guys know where your rooms are?

Caleb: I think so.

Uncle Jonathan: Isaac and Ian, can you guys bring the rest of the suitcases upstairs?

Ian: Sure thing, Dad.

Micah: Can I sleep in Caleb's room?

Uncle Jonathan: And after that, we'll be wrapping up with the captivating story of our brother here. As you can see, it's going to be a great conference. All right, youth. You're probably wondering what we have up our sleeve for you this year. You're all in your work clothes and have warm jackets, right?

Youth Group: Yep.

Uncle Jonathan: Good. You're going on a two-hour boat trip. My son Caleb here will be taking you to a village called Nanwalek. You'll be divided into two teams and will be helping a native man, Herman Christensen. He has a shed that needs some work. One team will be cleaning and painting, and the other team will do some demolition.

I've asked Caleb to lead the first team. I'll choose one of the other older students to be the second leader. Grab your backpacks and gather in the parking lot. I'll be taking you down to the harbor with the church bus. Parents, your next session starts here in 15 minutes. All right, we're dismissed.

Guest (Male): Caleb knows how to drive a boat?

Uncle Jonathan: Kate and Caleb, can you wait a second?

Caleb: Sure, Dad.

Kate: No, please not.

Uncle Jonathan: Hey, Kate. We're wondering if you'd like to lead the other team.

Kate: Oh. Do you think I can handle that?

Uncle Jonathan: Sure.

Kate: Great. Thanks. I need to go get my pack. See you.

Uncle Jonathan: Okay, bud. Have you talked to them yet?

Caleb: Yep.

Uncle Jonathan: Perfect. Remember, subtle.

Caleb: Got it, Dad.

Nancy: Well, we haven't set sail yet. Just tell him you don't want to do it.

Kate: Shh, he'll hear you.

Nancy: Oh brother, he doesn't bite.

Kate: I don't want to be in charge. I hate confrontation. Besides, nobody likes the boss.

Nancy: I'll be happy to lead. Then I can tell you what to do.

Kate: Well, when you put it that way.

Caleb: All aboard! Everything good, girls?

Kate: Yeah. See you tonight, Uncle Jonathan.

Uncle Jonathan: Have fun!

Aunt Kitree: Hi, I'm Nancy. Kitree Brinkman. So, have you been here before?

Nancy: No.

Aunt Kitree: How many brothers and sisters do you have?

Nancy: There's ten of us. Our oldest sister is married though, so she didn't come.

Kate: Hi, my name's Kate.

Herman: I'm Herman Christensen. It's good to meet you, Kate.

Kate: It's nice to meet you too. Hey, aren't you the Mr. Christensen we're helping?

Herman: Yep, I'm catching a ride back to the village with you guys. I sure appreciate you coming out to help me.

Kate: Have you lived there long?

Herman: Yep, my whole life. My family is mostly Alutiiq. Sometimes they call us Pacific Eskimo.

Kate: Cool. What's the name of your village?

Herman: Nanwalek. It means "by the lagoon."

Kate: Do you speak Alutiiq?

Herman: Of course. I'm Alutiiq. *Shaluq'tua* means "I'm happy."

Kate: *Shaluq'tua*?

Herman: No, that's a French style. *Shaluq'tua*.

Kate: *Shaluq'tua*.

Herman: Not bad. *Qwaq'tua* means "I'm mad." Isaac, those are big ones.

Ian: *Qwaq'tua*.

Herman: That's good. *Quyana* is our word for "thank you."

Kate: *Quyana*.

Herman: Yeah, that's pretty good. *Asiq'tun*, Kate.

Caleb: Okay guys, my team's job is to tear down the rotting fascia around the roof of the building. It's moldy so we'll be burning it down.

Guest (Male): Burning the shed down?

Caleb: I mean burning the fascia. Katie, your team's job is to empty out all the stuff from the shed and then clean and paint the inside walls.

Kate: Hey, seems like we have more work to do than you guys.

Caleb: You want to switch jobs?

Kate: No, that's okay. Bet my team finishes first though.

Caleb: All right, you're on. Let's go, guys. Ian, have you seen Isaac?

Ian: No. Oh, I think he ran off to look for a bathroom.

Caleb: Great, one teammate already missing.

Kate: So, do you guys think we should drag all this furniture out to the yard so Herman can decide what he wants to keep?

Guest (Female): Okay, sounds good.

Kate: There's a lot of stuff to move before we can start painting.

Caleb: Hey guys, help me with these ladders.

Ian: Got it.

Herman: I have food over here!

Kate: I wonder what color paint he picked out. I think it's pink.

Nancy: Really?

Kate: Yeah, maybe it's more of a salmon thing.

Caleb: Man, that last board was really hard to get off.

Ian: Yeah, those nails are nasty.

Isaac: Oh, this looks so good.

Caleb: Now you show up.

Herman: Help yourself, or grab a plate. I prepared some of our Alaskan dishes. We have dried fish and berries here, and these are bird eggs. I even got some crab meat for us. These are sea slugs.

Kate: Should we pray first, Caleb?

Caleb: Go for it.

Kate: All right. Lord, thanks that we can be here. Thank you for Mr. Christensen and this food he made us. Please keep us safe while we work. In your son's name, amen.

Youth Group: Amen.

Caleb: What a feast. Thank you, Mr. Christensen.

Herman: Yeah, you bet. It's the least I could do for you hard workers.

Caleb: Nancy, are you coming?

Nancy: Just a second.

Kate: She's texting again.

Caleb: I'm surprised she has service out here.

Nancy: Wow, this is quite the spread.

Herman: I'm guessing you guys all worked up a sweat, so I made something extra special for you. Eskimo ice cream. It's an Alaskan native thing.

Isaac: I love ice cream. Can I start with that?

Herman: Well, okay. Sure.

Isaac: Oh, I don't think so.

Herman: You don't like it?

Nancy: That's an understatement. You call this ice cream?

Kate: Nancy! I can't believe she said that.

Herman: Well, it's the way my people have always made it. Maybe it's just different from what you're used to.

Nancy: I'll take some of that crab though. It's hard to wreck crab.

Herman: Okay, here you go.

Caleb: That was great. Thanks so much.

Herman: I'm glad you liked it, Caleb.

Caleb: I'm curious, do you have kids?

Herman: No. I was married, but my wife passed away and we never had children. I hope to see her again one day in heaven.

Caleb: How do you think someone gets to heaven?

Herman: Well, by doing good things or I don't know. Good question.

Caleb: Can I show you a verse?

Herman: Show me a what?

Caleb: A verse from the Bible.

Herman: Oh, sure. Okay.

Caleb: Just a second. Ephesians 2:9. Here, look at this.

Herman: I don't have my glasses so I can't see.

Caleb: Nancy, get a picture of me reading my Bible to him for the presentation tonight.

Nancy: Caleb? Okay, ready.

Caleb: Could you stand a little closer to me, Herman?

Herman: Well, okay, but like I said, I can't read it.

Caleb: That's okay, just pretend you're reading along. I want to get a picture of this.

Herman: Am I close enough?

Caleb: Just a bit more. Okay, how's this? Perfect. Thanks. Okay. It says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." So you see that we get into heaven by grace, not by works.

Herman: Oh, well, thanks for sharing that.

Caleb: You bet. Okay team, let's get back to work.

Kate: Kit, do you want to help us clean up?

Nancy: Sure thing.

Herman: Thanks, girls. I'm not as young as I used to be and I get tired quicker.

Kate: You're welcome. Hey, I'm really sorry about Nancy.

Herman: Oh, that's all right. Young people these days, they don't appreciate Eskimo ice cream.

Kate: Yeah, I guess.

Herman: If she didn't like the Eskimo ice cream, I'd like to see her try this.

Kate: Huh?

Herman: We call it stink head.

Kate: Oh, what is it?

Herman: Just what it's called. It's a traditional dish. You see, we take a fish and cut off the head and we bury the head and we let it get real ripe and then we dig it up and we eat it.

Kate: That's interesting.

Herman: Yes, it's not wise to eat stink head if you're not used to it, but actually it's quite good for your digestive system.

Kate: Oh, kind of like sauerkraut.

Herman: Yep.

Kate: Hey, do you know anything about Inuit throat singing?

Herman: You've heard of that?

Kate: Yeah, I have. Isaac, it's fascinating.

Herman: I'd demonstrate for you, but only the women do it. Hey, my friend Bill recorded some native music.

Kate: Really?

Herman: Yep. I might be able to find a CD on my boat.

Caleb: Hey Kate, you guys started painting yet?

Kate: Yep. Your team better hurry. We have the first wall done.

Caleb: You don't have a chance. We've become a fascia-pulling machine. Only Isaac keeps running off. Have you seen him?

Kate: I'm not going to help you. You might want to keep better tabs on that fascia-pulling machine of yours.

Caleb: Whatever. Are you guys replacing the upper trim? The soffit? No, why?

Kate: Ian keeps missing the fascia and hitting it. Look, it's all scraped up.

Caleb: Oops. Herman will never notice. It's in the back of the shed anyways. Ian, go find Isaac.

Ian: All right.

Kate: So much for good workmanship.

Ian: Kate, what's this?

Kate: Herman found that music he was talking about. He brought a CD player. How cool.

Kate: Hey Matt, have you ever edged before?

Matt: No. Can you tell?

Kate: Sort of. Here. First you don't want too much paint on your brush. Then hold it at an angle and make a smooth, long stroke like this.

Ian: Isaac! Shh, be quiet. Come over here. Quick. Check it out. It's not even scared of us.

Isaac: Whoa, he's so close. Is that your hat?

Ian: Yeah, I took it off because I was getting hot. And when I turned around, there he was. This red fox playing with my hat. Uh-oh. Hey!

Caleb: Isaac, get back to work.

Isaac: But the fox took my hat.

Caleb: That's right, put it down. He's walking away with it.

Isaac: No, my hat! Seriously?

Caleb: You could kiss that hat goodbye, Isaac.

Kate: Kitree, can I talk to you?

Aunt Kitree: Yeah, sure. What's up?

Kate: Have you noticed Caleb?

Aunt Kitree: What do you mean?

Kate: Well, he doesn't seem to be taking this thing seriously. It's actually sort of embarrassing.

Aunt Kitree: Yeah, I noticed that.

Kate: His team is just rude and reckless. It's like he doesn't care. Maybe you should have a talk with him.

Aunt Kitree: I'd love to, but I know you want everyone to be happy, Kate, but it doesn't always work that way.

Kate: This is exactly what I thought would happen.

Aunt Kitree: On a brighter note, look, we're about half done.

Herman: Well, look at this. It's beautiful in here. Hey, why don't you come out into the fresh air? I have some cookies out here for you that I made.

Youth Group: Oh, yum.

Ian: Thanks for leaving us, some.

Caleb: I tried to tell the others to wait, but they wouldn't listen.

Herman: Oh, don't worry about it. I have another tray in the oven. Did Nancy get one?

Ian: I don't think so.

Herman: Hey Nancy over there, do you want a cookie? Does she have trouble hearing?

Ian: Yeah, when she's on her phone texting, which is like just about all the time.

Herman: Oh.

Ian: Caleb, maybe you should say something to her. She's being sort of rude.

Caleb: Nah, she's new to our youth group. If I say something she might not come back.

Ian: Okay.

Caleb: Hey Herman, mind if we burn this pile of moldy wood?

Herman: That's fine. I have a burn pit down by the shore.

Caleb: Great. Caleb, what are you doing?

Guest (Male): Making sure this pile starts quick.

Ian: Is that gas?

Caleb: Mr. Stapleron calls it secret sauce. And his nickname's Torch. Remember what he did to the Thompson's barn?

Ian: What stinks out here? I thought we were supposed to burn down by the shore.

Caleb: You want to move all this wood? I'm done moving it.

Ian: What do you mean? You've been gone for the last hour.

Isaac: Well, I had to wash the fox stuff out of my hat.

Kate: Caleb, it's right next to the shed.

Caleb: It'll be fine, don't worry about it. Okay everyone, stand back.

Ian: Are you sure about this?

Caleb: Yep. Stand way back. Whoa!

Youth Group: It's like 30 feet high!

Kate: Should we be worried about the sparks flying into the shed? Water, get some water quick!

Herman: She sure burned fast. Mr. Christensen, I am so sorry.

Herman: Oh, it's okay. It was pretty old anyway.

Kate: I'm so *qwaq'tua* at him.

Herman: I understand. He's my cousin, you know. We've always been like buddies. I guess I was afraid to say something because I didn't want to wreck that relationship. You know, Kate, sometimes one must be bold like a sea lion with those that they love.

Kate: Did you see where he went?

Herman: I think he's on the boat.

Kate: What you doing?

Caleb: Getting things ready to head back.

Kate: Are you even going to talk to him?

Caleb: What's there to say?

Kate: I'm sorry, will you forgive me for burning down your shed? That would be a good start.

Caleb: He knows I'm sorry.

Kate: Not if you don't tell him. Caleb, why did we come here?

Caleb: Missions?

Kate: You might want to think about whose side you're on in this mission.

Caleb: I know this has been hard for you. I feel bad about it.

Kate: Feel bad about what you did to Mr. Christensen.

Caleb: Don't worry about it.

Kate: Don't worry about it. I can see I'm not getting through to you, Caleb. I'm going to tell everyone to get ready to leave. I hope you at least talk to him before we go.

Caleb: I'm sorry, Kate.

Herman: J-Walker, this is Alutiiq Gramps WZ2413, over.

Uncle Jonathan: Alutiiq Gramps, this is J-Walker WA4251.

Herman: Yeah, the boat's packed with ten souls steaming for Homer, over.

Uncle Jonathan: Mission successful?

Herman: Yeah, things got real hot, over.

Uncle Jonathan: Roger that. Thank you. Eagle is departing. J-Walker out.

Herman: Alutiiq Gramps out.

Uncle Jonathan: Isaac, you the last one?

Isaac: Yep.

Uncle Jonathan: Hurry, my dad's waiting for us. Okay gang, let's sit down over here on the grass and debrief before we load the bus. It's always a good thing to talk through a trip after it's over. We want to celebrate the good things that God did and talk about what could use some improvement. Okay? This will be fun. So, overall, how did it go?

That good, huh?

Kate: Well, not really.

Uncle Jonathan: Let's do it this way. I'll ask each team leader the wins their team experienced. Then we'll discuss areas of improvement. Kate, you start. Any wins?

Kate: We completed our tasks. I felt our team did a pretty good job.

Uncle Jonathan: Great. Anything else?

Kate: No one got hurt.

Ian: You befriended Mr. Christensen. That was really good.

Uncle Jonathan: Tell me more about that.

Ian: Kate really made an effort to learn his language and show respect for his culture.

Uncle Jonathan: Well, that's great. It sounds like you treated him like a person instead of a target. That only comes from love. You see, love for the person drives our actions. Good job, Kate. Thanks. Okay, Caleb, positives.

Caleb: Well, we got all the fascia torn off the shed and disposed of.

Uncle Jonathan: Great. Anything else?

Caleb: That's about it.

Uncle Jonathan: Really? That's all?

Caleb: Yep.

Uncle Jonathan: Okay. Negatives. Caleb, we'll start with your team. Were there any?

Caleb: Well...

Uncle Jonathan: Let me guess. You burned the shed down.

Caleb: How did you know?

Herman: Because I told him.

Caleb: Mr. Christensen, how did you get here?

Herman: Well, your Uncle Jonathan came and picked me up in an airplane.

Caleb: What?

Uncle Jonathan: There's something I didn't tell you this morning. Herman here is a missionary to his people. He also attends our church.

Herman: True.

Uncle Jonathan: He needed his old shed torn down.

Herman: Also true.

Uncle Jonathan: So I told him we'd send a team over to take care of it.

Caleb: You have got to be kidding. Caleb! Ow!

Caleb: I deserved that. I really wanted to tell you, but he wouldn't let me. Sorry, Kate.

Uncle Jonathan: I'll take the blame. We wanted to dramatically show what not to do on mission trips. So we had three plants: Caleb, Isaac, and Nancy.

Herman: And Herman.

Kate: You were pretty convincing, Caleb. I had no idea.

Uncle Jonathan: Let's talk about Isaac for a moment. What did his character illustrate?

Youth Group: Laziness.

Guest (Male): He probably worked a total of 15 minutes. We were always chasing him around.

Uncle Jonathan: When we go to serve, we are there to work, not to play. Okay, let's talk about Nancy. What did she do wrong?

Youth Group: On her phone the whole time.

Uncle Jonathan: Mm-hmm. This is a big problem today. Put the phones away. Same goes for youth group. Phones can be such a distraction.

Kate: Yeah. She also really insulted Mr. Christensen when she tried his Eskimo ice cream.

Uncle Jonathan: Oh, how'd that make you feel, Herman?

Herman: Pretty bad. Even though I knew she was acting, it still hurt a little bit.

Uncle Jonathan: If we're not careful, our actions can say, "If you're not like us, you're not as good as us." This brings me to Caleb's shortcomings.

Caleb: Oh boy.

Uncle Jonathan: Caleb, you acted like you were superior to Herman by ignoring him when he suggested you burn down by the shore. We need to listen to and respect those we are serving. You also failed to apologize for burning down his shed.

Kate: You also didn't listen when I pointed out Ian's poor workmanship.

Ian: Ian, were you a plant?

Isaac: No.

Ian: So you weren't actually trying to destroy his shed with that hammer?

Isaac: Hey, Caleb wasn't the best teacher, you know.

Uncle Jonathan: Another potential problem. Bad leaders and unskilled workers. Sorry, Ian.

Kate: Caleb also posed for a picture while witnessing to Herman.

Herman: Yeah, that was lame. That made me feel like a project and not a person.

Uncle Jonathan: As was mentioned, it all comes down to love. Our actions in missions must be driven first by our love for God and then by love for those we are serving. Remember the Great Commandment? Who can quote the verse?

Nancy: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

Uncle Jonathan: Good job, Nancy. That pretty much sums it up, guys. Well, I hope this trip taught us something.

Youth Group: Oh yeah. Yep.

Uncle Jonathan: Let's load up.

Herman: Kate, *Asiq'tun*. You did well.

Kate: *Quyana*, Mr. Christensen.

Caleb: I always look at pictures you post online and dream of doing this.

Kate: It's called Hatcher's Pass. This is one of my favorite places.

Caleb: I can see why. You were pretty gutsy for calling me out. Sorry for putting you through that.

Kate: It's okay. Hey, is it true you're going to attend YWAM mission school in Hawaii?

Caleb: Yeah, I'm still not sure what the Lord wants me to do, but I think it's a good next step.

Kate: That's really cool. Caleb, see those old shacks down there in the side of the mountain? Shall we investigate, Watson?

Beachglass Ministries: You've been listening to the Brinkman Adventures, and this episode is entitled "A Tale of Two Teams." While fictional, it represents real mistakes often committed by well-meaning people. We hope you've learned a little and have been encouraged by what you've heard. Let's strive to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves. To find out more about this episode or to get your own copy, please visit brinkmanadventures.com.