Brinkman Adventures

Beachglass Ministries: Last time on the Brinkman Adventures, the Brinkman family received a large check in the mail. Each of you kids gets up to seven thousand dollars to spend on whatever you want. That money seems to have made things worse at home. Perhaps we should ask God how He wants us to use what is left of the money.

Jack, would you prayerfully consider coming and playing guitar for us? Lord, You know my heart. I want to serve You and be a good leader here, but I am scared. I am not saying these feelings are from God or anything, but I am worried for you.

Jack Brinkman decides to face his fear of the Bering Sea. The family piles into their comfortable new van with a small dent in one door and drives to Alaska in record time. Jack and Michelle will continue on to Russia while Susan and the rest of the kids will stay with Jack's sister and brother-in-law in the nearby town of Homer.

Dave Anderson: Carry your luggage over to that plane. This is Bob Miller. He is coming with us. He will be our soundman.

Michelle Brinkman: He also speaks Russian.

Bob Miller: It is great to meet you all. Wow, there is a bunch of you.

Isaac: I will carry your bag, Michelle.

Michelle Brinkman: Thanks, Isaac.

Dave Anderson: Go ahead and put your stuff in the side door there. Bob will arrange them.

Ian: Could I sit in the plane, Dad?

Jack Brinkman: Dave, could Ian sit in the cockpit for a second before we load up?

Dave Anderson: Sure. Let me hoist you up there, Ian. There you go.

Ian: It is small in here. I thought planes were bigger.

Guest (Male): The wings look broken. Those things on the back are falling off. I do not think I would want to fly in this.

Jack Brinkman: Get real, Trey. Those flaps on the wings are supposed to be that way. They help the pilot fly the plane.

Guest (Female): I know why there are two engines, so if one stops working, we do not crash.

Michelle Brinkman: Girls, let us not talk like that.

Dave Anderson: Okay, gang, let us circle up and pray before we leave. All right, hop down, Ian.

Father, thank You for this opportunity to serve You. I ask for You to surround and protect us with Your angels and reunite us in a few days so we can tell of all the great things You did. May You be glorified in ways we could never even imagine as a result of this trip. In Jesus' name, amen.

Jack Brinkman: Amen. All right, load up. I love you, honey.

Michelle Brinkman: I love you, dear.

Guest (Female): Michelle, I do not want you and Daddy to go.

Michelle Brinkman: Daddy and I are only going to be gone for a little while, Gracie. You will see us really soon, okay? Can I have a kiss?

Jack Brinkman: We love you family. Goodbye.

Barb Anderson: Barb, how is your back doing?

Dave Anderson: Great. These seats are surprisingly comfortable for a small plane.

Barb Anderson: Bob, is he teaching you how to fly this thing?

Bob Miller: Yeah, I did not know I would get a free flying lesson.

Jack Brinkman: Dad, I cannot see land anymore. How long until we get to Russia?

Dave Anderson: About an hour. You sound like you are still sick.

Jack Brinkman: Yeah, my throat still hurts a little.

Dave Anderson: Are you going to be okay?

Jack Brinkman: Yeah, I will be fine as long as they do not make me eat some strange food. There is something I am a little nervous about though, Dad.

Dave Anderson: And what would that be? I did not think you were afraid of anything.

Jack Brinkman: I do not know. It is a little embarrassing. Well, I am nervous about telling the Russians about Jesus. My last experience in witnessing did not go so well.

Dave Anderson: Oh, yeah. The Thompson twins down the road. That was painful. They were not very interested.

Jack Brinkman: It is not just that they did not want to listen. They were so hostile. I thought they were going to beat me up.

Dave Anderson: In the Bible, Jesus promised that people would reject us. It is not because of us though. It is because they reject God. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth."

If you talk about Jesus, you are going to be rejected again. Do not let that stop you, honey. What you are sharing is true and it has the power to save. You do the telling and leave the results to Him.

Jack Brinkman: Thanks, Dad. That helps. How are you feeling now about this trip?

Dave Anderson: I am still a little nervous about flying over this sea after my accident. In fact, if you do not mind, I think I will doze off and get this trip over with. Wake me when we are in Russia.

Jack Brinkman: Will do. And I will pray for you, Daddy.

Michelle Brinkman: Dad, what?

Jack Brinkman: We are here.

Dave Anderson: You scared me. Do not do that, girl.

Michelle Brinkman: Sorry, Dad. Hey, look down there. You can see the town. It is nestled up along the edge of the bay. The mountains over there still have snow on them.

Dave Anderson: Dave, you were right. No roads coming or going, just a town plopped down in the middle of nowhere.

Michelle Brinkman: If you push your head against the window, you can see the runway ahead of us. We are about to land.

Dave Anderson: We have landed. Yippee! Praise God. That was a perfect flight. Please stay seated until the fasten seatbelt signs go off. And once again, thanks for flying with us today on Puny Plane Air. Okay, out we go.

Michelle Brinkman: It smells just like Alaska and it is just as cold.

Dave Anderson: That is because we are only a couple of hours away from Alaska. Look at that hill over there.

Michelle Brinkman: Wow, there is huge writing on it.

Bob Miller: Yes, the writing is made with thousands of rocks. It says "Slava Sovetskim Pogranichnikam," which means glory to the Soviet border guards. See the old eroding buildings over there?

Michelle Brinkman: Yeah, what are they?

Bob Miller: Those are lookout posts facing Alaska. Dave, here comes our receiving party.

Dave Anderson: Okay, folks, let us gather together.

Yakov Andreiv: Welcome to Lavrentia, friends. My name is Yakov Andreiv. I am the mayor of Lavrentia and I welcome you so very warmly. I also introduce you to my assistant, Ivan Volnov.

Ivan Volnov: Hello. Pleased to meet you, friends. Thank you for coming to Lavrentia.

Yakov Andreiv: Ivan, take your men and unload their plane onto the truck. Deliver everything to the White House. We meet there. I am so very happy you have come. Which one of you is David Anderson?

Dave Anderson: I am Dave Anderson. It is good to meet you, Your Honor. Thank you for allowing us to come to Lavrentia.

Yakov Andreiv: Mr. Anderson, I am very happy you come, but not everybody happy. Cold War over, but some here still hate America. I see that you will be okay, but please be careful. You talk to me if you have trouble.

Dave Anderson: I understand, Your Honor.

Yakov Andreiv: Friends, please get in my automobile. We drive to White House and meet Ivan there.

Anna: Hello. Have the Americans arrived? Da. We fought to protect Mother Russia from invasion for years. Today, we are invaded and not a shot is fired. This cannot be allowed. Watch them closely. These spies must not be allowed to succeed.

Ivan Volnov: Okay, Anna. I watch them.

Yakov Andreiv: Here we are. That big gray building across the street is the Cultural Center. It is a very nice theater. There is a stage there and a big room for concerts.

This building here is what we called the White House. We named it after your White House in America. This is where I work. We store these boxes in the basement. Ivan will help you.

Dave Anderson: Okay, everyone grab a box of food or medicine and follow Ivan. Leave your luggage outside next to the White House.

Ivan Volnov: Follow me downstairs. Be careful. They are steep.

Michelle Brinkman: It is creepy down here, Dad. Look at the walls. They are badly cracked and it looks like there is only one light bulb. They must be on the same energy policy as the Brinkman clan. Have you been consulting with them, Dad?

Jack Brinkman: Very funny, Michelle.

Ivan Volnov: We put boxes here.

Jack Brinkman: Hey, guys, check this out under the stairwell. What is in all these bags? Books, thousands of books. Excuse me, Ivan, I am curious about these books.

Ivan Volnov: They are old books from our library.

Jack Brinkman: Well, why are they here?

Ivan Volnov: These books are full of communist lies. When communism fell and our government changed, we took them out of library and put them here.

Dave Anderson: Oh, I see. Okay, everyone, back upstairs for another load. Let us get this job done. Phew, that was a workout. My knees are killing me from those stairs.

Hey, everybody, the mayor has arranged for us to split up and sleep in the homes of a couple of families. They should be here shortly. While we are waiting, we can check out those stores across the street.

Jack Brinkman: Nice. That looks like a grocery store. Let us check it out, Michelle.

Michelle Brinkman: Okay, sure.

Bob Miller: Do you mind if I tag along?

Jack Brinkman: We would love the company, Bob. You can translate for us.

Barb Anderson: Dave, that one has fur coats in the window. I would like to go in there.

Dave Anderson: Sounds good. We will meet you guys back out on the street in a couple of minutes. Hello. Do you speak English?

Guest (Female): Yes, I speak a little bit English. How I help you?

Barb Anderson: We are just looking around. I love the music you are playing.

Guest (Female): These are radio stations.

Jack Brinkman: Do you have only one station?

Guest (Female): Yes, we have just one station here in Lavrentia. It gives news and plays music.

Bob Miller: Barb, feel these fur coats. These are very nice coats. Where are they made?

Guest (Female): They are made here in Lavrentia. They are, you say, beautiful, no?

Barb Anderson: Yes, they are gorgeous. I think this is fox fur.

Dave Anderson: I do not know. It feels oddly familiar. Ma'am, is this coat made of fox fur?

Guest (Female): No, that one is, how you say, dog fur.

Dave Anderson: I knew it felt familiar. Reminds me of our little Tootie.

Barb Anderson: David Anderson, that is a horrible thought and not funny at all.

Dave Anderson: Okay, team, it is time to split up. Bob and Barb, we threw you together. Our host is not here yet, but her house is right over there.

Barb Anderson: All right.

Dave Anderson: Jack and Michelle, you will be staying at Katya's house. Katya, this is Jack Brinkman and his daughter Michelle.

Katya: Hi. It is good to meet you.

Jack Brinkman: Pleased to meet you, Katya.

Katya: We get your bags and walk. It not far. We have a wonderful meal for you.

Jack Brinkman: Mmm, I cannot wait to eat Russian food.

Katya: I think you like it much. We have special tonight just for you. Reindeer.

Beachglass Ministries: The hosts are very poor, yet they treat their guests like kings and queens. Michelle discovers she actually likes eating reindeer.

Michelle Brinkman: It is like chicken.

Beachglass Ministries: Bob, Dave, and Barb stay with a Russian Eskimo. She cooks them a delicious meal of salmon and for dessert, serves them wild blueberries that she harvested from the tundra. The next morning, the team sets up serving lines in front of the White House. Let's join them as they finish preparing.

Jack Brinkman: Look at the crowds lining up. This is great.

Michelle Brinkman: Yeah, look. The line goes all the way down the street and around the corner.

Dave Anderson: How did they all find out about this? For the last two days, we have been advertising every hour on the radio station. It only cost us six cents per word. By now, the whole town has to know we are here.

Dave, there are so many people that I think we should have two serving stations. Michelle and I can serve here, and you and Barb can serve the second line.

Dave Anderson: Good idea. Bob, since you speak Russian, you can talk to the people in line.

Bob Miller: Yeah, sounds good.

Jack Brinkman: We also need bags for the people to put their food in. Did we bring any?

Dave Anderson: Yeah, we brought a box of plastic bags. I did not see them when we were setting up. They must still be in the basement of the White House. I will run down and grab them.

Michelle Brinkman: I know where they are, Mr. Anderson. I will go grab them.

Dave Anderson: Thanks, Michelle. We will start as soon as you get back.

Michelle Brinkman: Okay, I will be back in a flash. This basement is so creepy. I feel like I am going down into a dungeon. Let us see. I put them back here behind the stairwell. Here they are. I hope these are enough. Who is coming down the stairs? It is a guard. I have got to get out of here. Oh, God, help me.

Jack Brinkman: Here she comes now, Dave. And she is running. Michelle, what is wrong?

Michelle Brinkman: Dad, somebody followed me downstairs.

Jack Brinkman: Followed you? What? Slow down. What are you talking about?

Michelle Brinkman: I ran into him. He was yelling.

Jack Brinkman: He did what? Well, nobody came up behind you. What did he look like?

Michelle Brinkman: I only saw his back. He was dressed like a soldier. Soldier! Someone is in the window now.

Jack Brinkman: Where?

Michelle Brinkman: That window next to the front door. I saw him. When everyone looked, he disappeared. Am I in trouble?

Dave Anderson: No, the White House is their government building. He was probably just seeing what you were up to. Are you okay?

Michelle Brinkman: Yeah, that was scary, Dad. I did manage to get the bags though. Here you go.

Jack Brinkman: Okay, well, good job. Well, I think we are ready. Here we go. Thank you for coming. Everyone gets one full bag of food. You can take whatever you want. If there is food left once everyone has been through, you may go through the line again and fill a second bag. Hello. Here is a bag for you. Take whatever you want.

Guest (Male): Fruit, vegetables, flour, sugar. I no believe this. I not have orange for years. Why are you do this?

Jack Brinkman: We were told to come and help the people of Lavrentia. Come back tonight and we will explain.

Guest (Male): Thank you so much for food. I certainly come back tonight.

Dave Anderson: Hey, Jack, be sure to invite them back tonight.

Jack Brinkman: We are doing that, Dave. Thanks for coming, ma'am. Here is a bag.

Michelle Brinkman: Here is a bag for you, sir.

Guest (Male): Thank you. Do you stand in food lines like this in America?

Michelle Brinkman: No, not where I live.

Guest (Male): Our government told us in America there were terrible food shortages and you commonly stood in line for your food. And here we are, standing in a food line. Our government lied to us.

Michelle Brinkman: I am sorry about your government. You do have a nice town though.

Guest (Male): What is nice about this place? There are no trees, no flowers. The buildings are crumbling. There is trash on the streets. There are wild dogs wandering everywhere. There is nothing nice about Lavrentia.

Michelle Brinkman: Well, you are nice. I mean, you speak very nice English.

Guest (Male): Thanks. I have studied English for four years at the university in Moscow.

Michelle Brinkman: No way. Oh, wait here for a moment. Mr. Anderson, Mr. Anderson, could you come here?

Dave Anderson: What do you need, Michelle?

Michelle Brinkman: This is Dmitri.

Dmitri: Pleased to meet you, Mr. Anderson.

Dave Anderson: Yes, Dave Anderson. My pleasure, Dmitri.

Michelle Brinkman: He is an intern with the town pharmacist. I thought you might want to talk to him.

Dave Anderson: Would I ever! Dmitri, some friends in America have donated over one... Dad, this is so cool.

Jack Brinkman: Yes, it is. I have a feeling there will be many people at the program tonight.

Michelle Brinkman: I can hardly wait.

Jack Brinkman: Me too. Well, team, this is it. Ivan, thanks for helping us set up. Bob, you happy with that sound system?

Bob Miller: Yeah, all is well back here.

Dave Anderson: Jack and Michelle, you two sound great.

Ivan Volnov: Your music is very beautiful. It is years since we have music here.

Michelle Brinkman: Did you see all those old ladies wiping down every chair while we were practicing? The people seem so excited.

Jack Brinkman: They sure do. People are beginning to gather outside. I think we are going to have a full house.

Dave Anderson: Ivan, this is a beautiful theater. Why does not the town use it?

Ivan Volnov: There is nothing to celebrate.

Jack Brinkman: Well, we are going to celebrate tonight. Yes, we are. And people are coming in. Look at all the kids. They are filling the two front rows. This is great. Can we pray together before we start?

Lord, thank You for safely bringing us here. Tonight, as we sing and share Your message, speak to these people, God. Draw them to Yourself. We ask these things in Your Son's name, amen. Okay, gang, we are on. Here we go.

My name is Dave Anderson. Thank you all for coming tonight. It looks like we have a full house. And look at all those kids. I wish we could take you all back with us to the United States. I wish I could. This lovely lady next to me is my wife, Barb. And tonight, we are going to sing some songs for you. After that, we will tell you about our Friend who sent us to Lavrentia. He cares very much about you. But now, are you ready for a song?

Barb Anderson: This is not good. These spies are trying to spread their useless religion. Come on, answer your phone.

Ivan Volnov: Da.

Anna: I am listening through bug and I hear what he is saying. He plans to teach his religion to our people.

Ivan Volnov: Just one moment. I cannot hear you. I need to go downstairs.

Anna: This is terrible. Those spies are spreading lies.

Ivan Volnov: What can I do?

Anna: Stop the meeting. The people must not hear lies. Did you say you are in lower level?

Ivan Volnov: Da.

Anna: Well, look on far wall. See box there? Turn off power. Pull lever. Do it!

Dave Anderson: People, do not panic. We seem to have lost power. Everybody, please stay in your seat. Dad, Dad, what happened?

Jack Brinkman: Dave, I think we blew a breaker. Something might have shorted.

Dave Anderson: That could be, but we lost the lights too. Normally, they are on a different circuit. I think I saw the breaker box downstairs by the restrooms.

Jack Brinkman: I will go down there and check it out.

Dave Anderson: I will come with you, Jack. You three tell jokes or something. Try to keep the people from leaving.

Jack Brinkman: Okay. Glad I have the mini flashlight Ian got me for Christmas. Are the boxes on that far wall? There. Wait a minute. It looks like the power was turned off. What is going on? Dave, something moved back in the corner.

Ivan Volnov: Step away from the box.

Jack Brinkman: Ivan?

Ivan Volnov: Yes, I did it. You cannot continue meeting.

Jack Brinkman: Says who?

Ivan Volnov: Says Anna. Anna has ordered me to stop meeting.

Jack Brinkman: Who is Anna?

Ivan Volnov: She is head of Communist Party. She is most powerful person in city.

Jack Brinkman: Ivan, the Communist Party is not in control and therefore Anna is no longer the leader of this town. We have permission from the mayor to hold this meeting. In fact, I believe he is sitting upstairs. Should we go get him?

Yakov Andreiv: You do not need to get him. He right here. Why you do this, Ivan?

Ivan Volnov: I scared of Anna. I feel I must protect my family, so I listen to her.

Yakov Andreiv: Turn that back on now.

Ivan Volnov: Yes, sir. Please forgive me.

Jack Brinkman: Your Honor, I understand why he did this and I forgive him. Ivan, tonight you will hear about One greater than Anna who can free you from fear.

Yakov Andreiv: Ivan, I forgive. You come up now and listen to these people.

Ivan Volnov: Yes, sir.

Jack Brinkman: Okay, men, let us go. We need to get back upstairs before we lose this crowd.

Dave Anderson: That is why the chicken crossed the ocean. We fixed it. Dave, they liked my joke. I do not think they want me to stop.

Folks, we found the problem and it looks like our sound is back on. I am glad you all stayed here. Shall we resume our music? Let us see. Barb, where were we?

Beachglass Ministries: As Dave and Barb begin to sing, Anna hears the music through her listening device. She grabs her bag and runs across town to the Cultural Center. Ivan failed. She would not. She slips quietly through the door and takes a seat in the back row.

But something stops her. Anna sits and listens to the music. After the singing, Dave tells the message of Jesus and she keeps listening. She listens to the entire message.

Dave Anderson: This Man, Jesus, loves you and wants to live in your heart. He will change your life. He changed mine. I am almost done talking, but before we end, I wonder if there is anyone here with a question. Dmitri, I see your hand. Go ahead.

Dmitri: Today, you delivered one thousand pounds of needed medical supplies. Tonight, you talk about Jesus. You say and you do. It is easy to say, but hard to do. I believe what you say because you do.

Dave Anderson: And Dmitri, we do what we do because we believe what we say. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor and you are our neighbor. Yes, ma'am, in the back row. What is your question?

Anna: My name is Anna. I have been in charge of all anti-American activities in Lavrentia for more than twenty-five years. I have been a member of the Communist Party all my life.

I came here to stop this meeting. I have hated America and I have hated Americans. I have listened to you tonight and I understand that you are sincere in what you believe.

Now I have a question for you. You talk about a God of love. Your God cannot be a God of love. A few years ago, my seven-year-old granddaughter was struck and killed by a drunk driver here in Lavrentia. How could a God of love allow such a thing to happen? What did my little girl do to deserve such a thing?

Jack Brinkman: I would like to answer this woman. Michelle, take my guitar. I am going to go back to her. Anna, I had a seven-year-old daughter who was struck down by a drunk driver too.

I will never understand why that happened. I do know I will see her in heaven someday. I am not mad at God because my daughter died even though I do not understand why it happened. Anna, I do not hate God. I love God. I know His purposes are different from mine and I have learned over the years to trust in God. He knows what is best. Anna, we love you.

Dave Anderson: Folks, we want to thank you for coming tonight. We will be up front here if anyone would like to talk. And we invite you all back tomorrow night at seven o'clock. We will sing more music and tell you more of this good news about Jesus. Goodnight, friends.

Jack Brinkman: What a night!

Dave Anderson: Yeah, praise God. That was an absolutely incredible meeting. Sure was.

Jack Brinkman: I thought it was over when the power went out, but that was just the beginning. God used the tragic death of my daughter and because of that, I was really able to empathize with Anna. I can see why He wanted us here.

Dave Anderson: I can too. And I do not think I will ever forget Dmitri's statement. You say and you do. It is easy to say, but hard to do. I believe what you say because you do.

Dave, I am so glad you invited us on this trip. And this was just the first meeting. I cannot wait to see what happens the next two nights. I am sure it makes all the work of getting here worth it.

Well, I do not know about you guys, but all this excitement has me exhausted. I need to hit the sack or I will be worthless tomorrow. You ready for bed, Barb?

Barb Anderson: I am, sugar.

Dave Anderson: Okay, goodnight, all.

Beachglass Ministries: The team spends the next two days interacting with the townspeople who fill the theater for the remaining two evening meetings. Anna is in attendance each night, quietly listening. On the morning of their departure, as the team packs their airplane, she comes running out to meet them.

Anna: Dave, Barb! I spent all night reading my Bible. In middle of night, I decide to follow Jesus.

Dave Anderson: Oh, Anna.

Anna: I feel so free. Thank you for coming and introducing me to Him.

Dave Anderson: Anna, I am so glad you made that decision. Your life will never be the same.

Anna: I read how people in Bible got baptized. I want to be baptized before you leave. Can you do that?

Dave Anderson: I would love to baptize you. Let us go to that building over there and do it right now.

Beachglass Ministries: The group crowds into a small room and Dave Anderson baptizes Anna. God saved the most unlikely person in the town. What a great trip. Now the team speeds over the frigid Bering Sea on their way home to America. They have one last concert together that night in an Eskimo village just outside of Nome, Alaska. But little do they know, this concert will never happen. Trust me, you are not going to want to miss the final part of Dangerous Waters.

While some of the events and characters in this story are fictitious, Dangerous Waters is based on the true story of Dave and Barb Anderson's trip to Lavrentia. If you want to learn more about Dave and Barb Anderson and the actual events this episode is based on, visit our website, brinkmanadventures.com.

Jack Brinkman: Kids, this is Jack Brinkman. The Bible says that once all the nations on earth have heard about Jesus, He will return. So let's join together in sharing this good news and bring back our King.