Born and raised in the Democratic Replublic of Congo, Pastor Manassee is no stranger to the suffering and deprivation caused by ethnic and civil wars. As an assistant pastor in the Congo whose outreach extended into Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda, he worked with many poor and needy families and their children. School was a luxury that none could afford. Dental and health care was equally impossible.

His heart grieved for his people. This verse from Matthew became for him very special and significant: “Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” And so his vision of “Rest for the Nations” was born. In his words, “ a deep and abiding rest that comes only from Jesus and assures us not only of our eternal election but also anchors us in peace in a world that is so turbulent in conflict.”

Called to Rwanda in the fall of 1994, he saw the scope of the suffering by widows and children and opened a church to minister to their needs. Left fatherless and husbandless by both the genocide and the AIDS epidemic, the task was enormous.

Many of these victims sought asylum in the United States, and in 2002, Manassee was called to join them. He has planted a Swahili speaking church in Concord, New Hampshire (NH). A haven for this people, it is a place of perfect love and safety where broken hearts can begin to heal. But his heart is still burdened for his homeland and so Rest for the Nations Ministries was established. Pastor Manassee graduated from the Hardin-Simmons University. He lives in Abilene with his wife Odiya and five children. He is an active member of Abilene/Callahan Baptist Association (A/CBA) and Baptist General Conference of Texas (BGCT). 

Pastor Ibumba has been a tireles s worker for the Lord ever since accepting Jesus in May 1979. He began at once to work in the church and in two years was made a deacon, becoming president of the Board of Evangelist. He attended many conferences throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, preaching the Gospel and brining people to Jesus. God’s calling to Ibumba was clearly the great commission of Matthew chapter 28, and God’s strength was gave Ibumba faith, enthusiasm, and compassion for the lost.

In the 1990’s he joined an interdenominational evangelical association and his outreach expanded to Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda. The collective madness of the 1994 genocide plunged this entire region into chaos. Pastor Ibumba witnessed frightened, confused, and suffering people seeking a safe haven but finding only more turbulence and deprivation.

His compassion for the plight of these people, particularly the widows and orphans, led him to Rwanda in 1997. Here he joined Pastor Manassee in his ministry to the hopeless and heartbroken survivors of the genocide. When Manassee left Rwanda for the United States, Ibumba remained to continue the preaching and charitable good works of the Kigali Rest for the Nations Charity Church. He is presently attending Evangelical Alliance College. He is married and he and his wife Helen have seven children of their own and three orphans in their care.