Birkey Ministry Updates have moved!

Oops! Looks like you've got an old link! We're still in Arizona doing camp ministry, but we no longer use this blog. Facebook is much easier for us to keep up to date.

Follow our family on our Facebook page by clicking here >>> Jon and Lindsay Birkey

And don't forget to follow our camp Facebook page by clicking here >>> SIMC Camps

Shalom,

-The Birkey Family

Birkey Bulletin November 2015

Click here to check out our latest newsletter

If you are looking for more regular updates, check out our Facebook page here!

The camps we run have their own Facebook page too!

Prayer Letter Update May 2015

Check out our latest prayer letter update!

BIrkey Bulletin Prayer Letter

Here is our latest prayer letter.

It's Been A While....

Hey all!

It's been a while! We sincerely apologize for letting this blog fall so far behind. We will do our best to keep this blog updated at least quarterly. That said, stay tuned for a post of our latest newsletter. To keep up with us on a more regular basis or catch up on what you may have missed, check out our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/jlbirkey!

Thanks for your prayers, dedication, and support!

Blessings,


-Jon & Lindsay

Summer Prayer Letter

Click here to read our Summer Prayer Letter!

Follow Me

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them...Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is it to you? You follow me." John 21:20-22 (NIV)

We took off from MTI in Colorado around 11:30 yesterday morning eager to get on the road as we had a 12 hr drive ahead of us. As we got into southern Colorado, we noticed the wind picking up drastically. Before we knew it, we found ourselves caught up in a dust storm with winds so strong that our little truck at times could barely manage to maintain 60 mph. We fought the wind and dust all the way into New Mexico and through Albuquerque when all of a sudden the dust turned into pouring rain. As we pushed forward through the rain, we finally found the calm after the storm with some rays of sun. As we pulled into a little town for dinner about an hour or so from the Arizona state line, we realized that we had just driven through a cold front. By the time we were done eating, clouds once again filled the sky and flurries of snow began to fall. Fortunately, the warmth of the day kept the snow from collecting on the road and since the front had passed through, we also didn’t have wind to deal with. Finally, we felt we were making good progress.

As we got into Arizona, after the sun had set, we were driving along I-40 when a couple of cars quicker than us were coming up on our truck. I decided to move over to the right to let them pass. The first car went by and sped on its way. The second car, an SUV, got up right beside me and suddenly hit his breaks and quickly pulled in behind me. My initial thought was maybe he had a radar and it had went off. A couple of minutes went by and I began to get annoyed with him because he was following rather close, with his headlights coming right over the top of my little truck into my eyes. It was making it hard to see. I decided to pick up my pace a little and try to get some distance, but he followed me. I then decided to slow down to below the speed limit hoping he would pass me, but he followed me. Every move I made, speed up, slow down, or pass...he followed me.

After about 20 minutes, I began to think this could be a serious situation. I wanted to take an exit ramp and try to find a well-lit area or gas station to where I would hope he wouldn’t follow me but in eastern Arizona, those places are few and far between. So we drove on towards Flagstaff another 20 minutes or so. In the meantime, I began to pray for God to give me the wisdom and understanding on what to do. As we got into Flagstaff, I knew we would be taking the exit to I-17 which heads down to Phoenix. I told Lindsay that I was not going to use my turn signal and would turn onto the exit ramp at the last second hoping to shake our follower. It didn’t work. 

We both looked at each other and knew what we need to do next, call the police. As Lindsay got ahold of dispatch and then in contact with an officer, I slowed the truck down and continued heading south towards Phoenix. The police officer told us to take an exit about 4 miles up the road and to meet him at the gas station there. As we come upon the exit, I once again decided to try a last second exit but to no avail. He followed me down the exit and as I saw the gas station parking lot, NO POLICE! What should I do?! By instinct, more likely by God directing me, I pulled up through the pumps and made a quick U-turn back through the pumps and out to the road. Not only did it give us an opportunity to finally see the make and color of the SUV (being dark and with his bright lights, we had no idea what exactly was following us) it also got him hung up because he couldn’t maneuver his car through the parking lot quick enough to follow us out. A few seconds later our policeman called us back wondering where we were. We told him what we had done and the description of the vehicle. We pulled into the parking lot of a bar just down the road and waited for further instructions. In the meantime, our police officer had already pulled into the gas station and found the car we had described. Over the phone, Lindsay could hear the officer talking to both dispatch and the person but not much could be distinguishable.

 After about five minutes, the officer picked up the phone and told us that the man in the SUV was drunk and would be arrested for DUI. What a feeling of relief! Thank goodness this is over! But wait, why did a drunk guy follow us for a whole hour? What was it about our car that he made him want to follow us? Why was he drunk in the first place? These questions bounced around my head all the way home. Obviously, I won’t know the answers to them but I do know one thing, the man behind that wheel was looking for someone to follow. Someone who could lead him at a time he felt that he couldn't do it by himself.

Father God, only you know what struggles in life this man is going through. You alone know why he decided to get drunk last night. You also know why he choose to follow us.  Lord, we pray that this man would get the council and treatment necessary to repair his physical, emotional, and spiritual brokenness. We pray that he would come to know the perfect leader to follow, Jesus Christ. We pray that we too will recognize the need to follow our Leader, especially in times where we feel we can’t do it by ourselves. Amen.