They did it! Just before 10:00pm on Saturday, June 11th, fourteen hours and fifty-two minutes after the first swing, Monte Abeler hit home run #5000. What an amazing moment! The team of “wiffle ball sluggers” hugged and cheered, partying like they just won the World Series! (see video below) And rightly so, hitting 5000 homers is quite the accomplishment and a huge commitment. But the biggest reason for the celebration was the fact that $35,901 was raised for Camp Lebanon’s ministry! 120% of the goal! Praise God!
Impact On Camp Lebanon
BY THE NUMBERS:
On an individual basis, Andy Peterson led all hitters by hitting 776 home runs! That is more than Barry Bonds’ MLB career record of 762 lifetime home runs. Another fun fact is the top 4 individual home run hitters were the 4 guys who had previously done this wiffle ball marathon before in prior years. Wisdom must come from experience!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY:
The day was filled with fun moments, but the highlight had to be in hour #12 when a bunch of kids & adults from Pequot Lakes Baptist Church each had the chance to take a round of swings and help chip away at the 5,000 home runs. These kids & adults have been a huge help with shagging balls and encouraging the guys at every one of these wiffle ball marathons. They’ve been a part of this thing from the beginning, so to see them hit 36 of the home runs was truly touching and amazing!
NEXT YEAR?
Will the Wiffle Ball 5K be back again in 2023? If the Lord wills, yes!! The guys are working on some new ideas and twists that will allow more people to be involved in what has become an annual tradition and blessing to Camp. Stay tuned!
THANK YOU!
Thank you again for supporting the cause! Follow Camp Lebanon on Instagram and/or Facebook to see progress reports on the now-fully-funded projects. May the Lord bless you just as you have blessed us!
