Esther Blumer is leaving soon to serve on a Mercy Ship in Africa, an amazing ministry that provides medical care. To learn more see
http://www.mercyships.org/home

To make a donation sponsoring Esther, use this link: https://secure.mercyships.org/webinfo/staffsupport
Though it says to use the last name, there is an error. If you want to choose to sponsor Esther, select “Esther Blumer”—using her first name and then follow instructions to make a donation.

On World AIDS Day, we will be united across denominations to pray for those in Edmonton, Canada and the World, who have been affected by HIV/AIDS.

It is also in part way to further support our mercy value and raise funds for Rwanda Mercy House who provided care and housing for orphans and widows of AIDS.

Please join with us at the Paramount Theatre, City Center Church  (10233 Jasper Ave).

Check out over 70 photos from our experience with the HIV/AIDS walk, posted in our online gallery.

You can even download them for your own library if you like.

View the photos here

We’re not huge on numbers at Urban Bridge, but sometimes they can be pretty encouraging.

Our first Bridge Songs event brought out around 100 friendly faces. Thanks to our friends, families and all those who just wanted a good night of music and art. Your presence made the night so much better than we could have made it on our own.

Our album went on sale, and even thought we didn’t really pre-anounce it, we sold 36 CD’s that first night. Not bad at all.

Perhaps the greatest “number” of all is that we raised over $700 for HIV Edmonton. Considering that donations were optional, that is an incredible number. Our Mercy and Creativity values blended seamlessly together at Bridge Songs.

All numbers aside, there was such a wonderful “feel” to the event. Christ was there with us, hanging out, listening to music and, I believe, singing along. Jacob and Lily put on an incredible show, packed with musical skill and spiritual depth. They became a real part of the Urban Bridge family that night, and we hope to see them again soon.

Again, thank you for being apart of this incredible event – and if you weren’t there, we still have Bridge Songs One albums for sale, including 2 tracks by Jacob and Lily. You can get yours any Sunday at Urban Bridge Church (until they’re gone).

You may also want to visit the Bridge Songs photo gallery.

Dear Darrell,

Love and greeting to you, your family and the Urban
Bridge church community!
We trust you are all well and that the ministry is
going on well.
Because there are so many needs concerning the mercy
homes, our church board is in the process of deciding
how best to use the funds you have sent, focussing on
priority areas . As soon as the decision is made we
will let you know. We are also going to put together a
few stories and profiles of the people who are being
supported under this ministry, as per your request.
By-the-way, we don’t remember whether we mentioned
this in our earlier communication, but we do have many
other people living with HIV/AIDS whom we minister to
who are not part of the mercy homes. These are about
100 members of a “Support Group” that meets at the
Tent once every week for Bible study, prayer,
counselling and encougement. Prisca and Mary
facilitate this group and from time to time they,
together some few volunteers, cary on regular home and
hospital visitations to these people. In-fact, it was
from that ministry that the mercy home idea was born
when they found out some destitute patients who did
not have anyone to take care of them, nor homes to
return to after they were discharged from hospital.
Prisca will be going to Uganda shortly to attend a big
HIV/AIDS Partners’ Seminar which is scheduled to take
place from 30th May to 2nd June.

Well, friends, that’s it for now.

We will get in touch soon.

Andrew & Prisca Mukinisha.

Kairos House is an Aids Hospice which we are volunteering to serve in:
Kairos House volunteers sign up night
Tuesday may 8 at 7:30 pm kelseys on 104 ave and 116 street.
All UBC participants need to bring two pieces of ID
one must be picture and it cannot be a student ID plus the names of 2 references including Phone #.
Questions? Contact Fran Drisner 468 5717 or ddrisner@shaw.ca
If you can’t attend and you still wish to volunteer please let me know and we
can make other arrangements.
hope to see you there.

This Sunday, April 22, is the second opportunity you will have to give money towards building Mercy Centers in Africa. These centers provide shelter and much more for women and children who have lost husbands and parents to AIDS in Rwanda.

As you may recall, 20% of all of our income goes to our mercy value, and so we have a full $10 000 to send to Rwanda already. We would like to see God move in a miraculous way this week to increase that number greatly throught the generosity of the church. It’s time to change lives by being a generous borrower.