About
About Brittany
Hello! My name is Brittany. I am happily married to my best friend and soul mate - Andrew; together, we have adopted two kittens: Salem and Selena. I am passionate about my faith in the Lord, lasting marriages, Christian education, and staying strong in the Lord in times of grief. This blog is my outlet to encourage Christians to trust the Lord in the good and the in bad times, as well as, to remember my beloved brother - Blake Smith.
The name TheLittleBrownMonkey.com is derived from precious memories from my childhood. Growing up, my brother and I would play together with every toy that either one of us owned; however, we loved one toy more than any other. Fredrick, a little brown monkey, was our favorite. We would take Fred with us everywhere - whether that was to a hospital visit, church, or even school. As we got older, we sold or gave away all of our toys except Fred. When my brother unexpectedly passed away, I found Fred in Blake's room on display with his trophies. Fred is now on display in my house and in my blog. See below for more information on my brother's spotless life and tragic death.
About Blake
Blake Ryan Smith was twenty years old and a junior at The Crown College of the Bible when he tragically went to be with our Lord. At a young age, my brother asked Jesus to come into his heart to forgive him of his sins and to save him. Soon after, Blake felt the call to preach weigh heavy on his heart. After he surrendered to the call, our pastor asked him to preach a ten minute message at our church on youth night. Every single year after that, my brother, along with a couple of his friends, would preach on youth night. Eventually, our pastor asked him to preach the entire service. 
When my little brother finally came to Bible college with me, he was terrified. Blake was an introvert that hated meeting new people. Ironically enough, Blake fell in love with the college and everyone there rather quickly. Again, Blake was an introvert who had to occasionally get away from people to recharge. Anyone who has lived in a dorm knows the fact that you are always surrounded by people. Blake loved all of the people he was surrounded by; however, sometimes, he needed to be alone to just think and enjoy the silence. On Saturday, February 3rd, Blake left his dorm to explore a lake 45 minutes away from his dorm. He posted a picture of this lake in his last Instagram story, and thankfully, we were able to screenshot the picture before the time ran out. Blake then drove to a construction site; totaled his car; acquired a concussion, brain bleed, and hypothermia; and eventually drowned in a nearby lake. 
My brother's final message was divinely about the shortness of life, and how we, as Christians, need to be doing everything we can to reach the world. Please click here and let it change your life just as it already has with many others.
