Ben Lippen on mission of baseball, support

By the time the Ben Lippen baseball team boards its early-morning flight to Cuba Sunday, exhaustion might be close to settling in. The Falcons will be coming off their third game in as many days on Saturday night.

The team will go home, shower, then meet for a 1 a.m. meal before heading to the airport.

Fatigue will quickly turn to excitement for the group of 25 over the following four days.

As part of the Honoring the Father Ministries, the team and support staff will use baseball as a way to minster to young adults in Cuba.

Coach Jonathan Johnson, a former major league pitcher and two-time All American from Florida State, helped begin the ministry in 1996. He makes 6-8 trips a year to Cuba and this is the third season in a row he has taken the Ben Lippen baseball team.

“It’s a culture shock when they first get there. The houses these people live in, the food they’re eating, the clothes they’re wearing and the gloves they’re using – if they even have a glove – makes you appreciate things here a little more,” Johnson said. “It opens my guy’s eyes. These guys in Cuba love the game so much and they have nothing.”

Over the past 21 years, Honoring the Father has ministered to more than a million people in Cuba. Ben Lippen students are allowed to take part in the ministry as part of a week of dedication to service hours or mission work.

One of the biggest challenges has been getting equipment and essentials in the country. The entourage will transport 50 pound bags that contain bats, 300 gloves from Wilson and 100 dozen baseballs and any other equipment needed to support the 110 Christian sports teams in Cuba that also covers soccer, softball, volleyball and dance.

Games will not be scheduled, but baseball is a way to reach the mainly 19-30 years old men they will try to minister. Baseball is a way of life for many in Cuba and they play the game from sun up to sundown.

The fields are mainly makeshift cow pastures that might use a cinder block as a base. Catchers sometimes wear just a mask. The bond formed between the mainly 15-18 year old kids from Ben Lippen with the Cuban adults will be a lasting one.

“When you play sports, it’s the universal language,” Johnson said. “You get to play catch, hit and take ground balls with these guys. It doesn’t matter what language you speak.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Ben Lippen on mission of baseball, support."