Broken Vessels Podcast host Latoya Washington sits down with Linda Gunter. Love Him Love Them began as a non-profit social services organization in 1998 by David and Linda Gunter in the fifth worst crime ridden neighborhood in America, Vine City, Atlanta, Georgia. As real estate investors at that time they had homelessness, drugs and prostitution thrown in their face on a daily basis. They wanted to make a difference so they took one of their rental properties and “turned it into” a homeless shelter. Because funding came from friends and family and not government grants they were free to operate and share Jesus on a daily basis. The shelter and the non-profit was named George’s Place in honor of Linda’s daddy.

In 2011, the year after the devastating earthquake rolled through Haiti, the Gunter family decided together to forgo their traditional American Christmas to travel to Haiti instead. What they saw, smelled and experienced throughout their trip completely wrecked them. They took gifts that first year for 17 girls in an orphanage named HUG, and on a whim, decided to stop into an orphanage on Christmas Day named LifeSaver with a meager suitcase of flip flops in hand. Sitting on a urine- stained daybed cradling one of the newly orphaned babies, David and Linda listened to 30 children with no possessions and no parents sing praises to the Lord for fulfilling their prayers over the past 3 months and what happened to be their greatest need – a simple pair of 99 cent flip flops. It was then that the Gunter’s knew something had to be done and chose to put much of their ministry focus on Haiti.

With Linda’s gift for vision and commitment to turn every obstacle into an opportunity, and David’s prayerful guidance and heart that people come to know and grow in Jesus, their ministry continued to expand. In the summer of 2017, their dream for the children they met at LifeSaver orphanage just a few years prior became a reality when the doors finally opened for the children to travel to the United States. With $128.00 remaining in the ministry’s bank account, David and Linda took another leap of faith and toured with the children throughout the southeastern United States to raise funds to support the orphanage and mission work in Haiti. For the first time, the children were able to share their joy with the countless they encountered. Paired with the Gunter’s story and Linda’s vibrant and magnetic personality, the Love Him Love Them Haitian Orphan Choir Tour quickly became a source of inspiration and a place for life change.

Today David and Linda Gunter are continuing to change lives through the ministry work of Love Him Love Them. With 30 incredible orphans at their side, they continue to raise awareness and funds for their ministries in Haiti with their annual choir tour. Their ministries on the ground in Haiti include a newly built hospital, church construction, a vocational school, transitional housing, storefronts for job creation, sponsor schools, and orphan care, to name a few. Love Him Love Them now hosts annual mission trip opportunities to Haiti, with the annual Christmas trip being their most loved, having served as the cornerstone for their ministry today. David and Linda have continued to minister to the families of northeast Georgia through many of the programs that accompanied Love Him Love Them’s start. To learn more or donate visit www.lovehimlovethem.org

To reach David or Linda, email them at david@lovehimlovethem.org or linda@lovehimlovethem.org.

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