At the age of 16, Nkundimana Meschack was addicted to drugs. Born into a non-Christian family, Nkundimana’s mother passed away when he was just six months old. Struggling to gain acceptance from his stepmother, Nkundimana started down a destructive path of drugs and alcohol until an encounter with Jesus changed everything.
While working towards a degree in education at a local university, a friend invited Nkundimana to church. The music and the pastor’s words captivated him. For the first time in his life, Nkunimana experienced the presence of God. He was baptized and became a born-again believer the following year.
Today, Nkundimana works as a pastor but doesn’t get paid. He leads a congregation of 60 in the rural Byumba District of Rwanda but is forced to teach primary school as well to provide for his family.
In 2012, TLAfrica invited Nkundimana to attend a Back to the Bible Conference. The study on 1 Corinthians taught by Dr. George Renner gave him the knowledge he needed to confidently teach the Bible to his congregation. He and his wife returned in 2017 for a TLAfrica Marriage Conference. Upon graduation, he was gifted a dairy cow to help provide for his family’s needs.
Two months ago, Nkundimana’s wife had a stroke. Dizzy, weak, and struggling to walk, she needed urgent care. Faced with a lengthy and expensive hospital stay, Nkundimana sold the cow TLAfrica gave him to pay for his wife’s care. “What a blessing!” he said, “without this gift we would not have been able to afford any treatment.”
Grateful for everything God has done in his life, Nkundimana hopes to leave the teaching profession in the future and focus on pastoring his church. He is thankful to TLAfrica for mentoring him, providing financial support, and connecting him with other grassroots pastors. “Thank you Jesus for TLAfrica!” he exclaimed, “they have helped my family and ministry tremendously.”
