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Originally appeared in APeX Attack #7 (October 2000) An Interview with
Gene
This year, as part of the Encounter the Gospel of Life workcamp,
Gene was interviewed by Kristin Witte and members of the audience
about his life, his ministry, and where he thinks God is calling
him. Here is a glimpse at that interview (along with some additional
commentary).
Q: Introduce yourself.
Gene: My name is Eugene David Monterastelli III. Before 3 years
ago more of the world knew me as Gene David, than Gene. My father
is Gene as well. I prefer Gene David because it places me in
the context of my family. I'm not Gene by myself, but Gene David
because I am in relationship to 4 other people.
Q: Tell us about your family
G: I am the oldest of 3. I am 26. My brother Greer is 24 and
is working on his masters in Sports Administration at the University
of Nebraska at Lincoln. My sister Elaine is 21 and just completed
her junior year of college at De Paul University in Chicago.
My mother works at an elementary school in a class room with
mentally challenged students and loves it. My father is an insurance
salesman because he wanted to be around his family. He was a
teacher until I was 2. He taught because he enjoyed working
with youth and having his summers off to be with his family.
In 1977, teachers salaries were the worst they had been in years
and my brother was just born and he could no longer afford to
teach. So he became an insurance salesman. He would and still
does, get up very early. Many days at 3:15am and goes in to
work. He always did this so that he could come home at 3pm to
be at our basketball or soccer games. It isn't a job he necessarily
likes, but I think he does it to have time with his family.
Q: What did you want to be when you grow up?
G: I use to not want to grow up. I wanted to play forever and
then I did grow up and it is really cool. I realized that I
didn't need to stop playing. It is weird that I would say that.
Being a grown up affords me opportunities I didn't have (or
didn't think I had) before. Because I am an adult, though appearances
would lead you to believe other things, people have to (well
they don't have to, but) take me more seriously.
Q: When you were little what did you want to be when you grew
up?
G: When I was in second grad I wanted to be a fireman. When
I was in third grade, I wanted to be a priest. When I was in
sixth grade I wanted to be a marine biologist, which is really
odd. If you look at a map, Casper, Wyoming where I grew up isn't
really close to the ocean. But, that is what I wanted to do.
Some where in Jr. High …yeah it was seventh grade we got
an Apple Computer. I was somewhere one day with my father.
He took me home and down to an extra room we had in the basement
and he said, "Set that up." And what it was, was a
computer. So I got the computer out and started coding in Apple
BASIC. 10 Print "Hello"; 20 GOTO 10; Run "Hello
Hello Hello Hello Hello…" It was very sophisticated
stuff. I fell in love with computers right then.
I was in 7th grade and I was laying in bed one night and I had
a realization that no matter what I did I was going to end up
as a teacher. I can remember it vividly. I was just laying
there and I knew as a 7th grader that I was going to major in
computer science, but I was going to be a teacher no matter what
I did. I would eventually be dragged kicking and screaming away
from whatever computer job I ended up with to be a teacher.
Between my Jr. and Sr. years of college I was in Normal, IL and
I was sitting at my computer one night. I was working, and you
know those signs which have the red letters scroll across the
screen. I had one of those scroll through my head and is said,
"You are going to be a teacher." I didn't go, "Yeah!"
I didn't go "Dang!" I just shrugged my shoulders
and went "OK" and went right back to work.
Q: If you only had one minute to work with a group of people,
what is the one message you would try and convey?
G: That we are the Body of Christ. That every single one of
us is a loved child of God. There is nothing we could ever do
to stop our God from loving us…..Then with the remaining
35 seconds I would do an interpretive dance to say the same thing.
Q: What do you struggle with in Ministry?
G: I struggle with the fact if my ministry is genuine. I live
the coolest life. This weekend I am flying off to Massachusetts.
Three weekends from now I am flying to the gulf coast of Florida
for three days. At the end of August I am going to Alaska to
do ministry for a week. When I show up at airports with Brad
there is going to be someone there with a handmade APeX sign.
They are going to take us to some house where a family has taken
their children and are making them sleep on the floor so we can
have their beds. They are going to make special meals and bring
out extra desserts. We are going to do our stuff and come off
stage. People are going to want pictures, hugs, and that is
really cool. That is awesome. My work environment is adults
who love youth and young people who are learning about their
faith and I get paid for it. I work when I want and if I want
to go home and do nothing I can. I really struggle with why
I am doing this. Am I doing it because I get to stand on stage
with a phenomenally talented individual and get showered with
praise because of the stuff we are doing or am I doing ministry
because it is who I genuinely am. I really lose sleep at night
wondering if this is how I am suppose to be using my gifts and
talents. The other struggle I have, and I know Brad shares as
well, is that we leave town on Friday and get back on Monday.
All my friends from college work 9 to 5 jobs during the week.
When the time they are being social and having fun I am working.
So it is very difficult to stay connected.
Q: You don't have to answer this one.
G: I will answer it, but I might lie
Q: When was the last time you really cried?
G: I was driving my car and I was listening to NPR and a story
came on about a high school student in Littleton, Colorado who
was in the parish in which my friend Jim is the youth minister.
The student whom the story was about was in Columbine High School
when the massacre happened. Reports say he was a bright kid.
He was a well liked kid. He was an All-State basketball player.
The night before I heard the story he took his own life. After
seeing what Jim had gone through after the massacre, to see the
slow healing process and how deep the scars were, that the youth
was in so much pain he felt he had to take his own life. I had
to pull over and just cry.
Q: What do you wish you had more time for?
G: See, that is a really hard question, because anything I say
is an admission of things I am doing wrong in my own life. I
work for myself and control my time. I have no responsibilities
outside of myself, which I have to attend to. I would like to
have time to take classes. I would love to be pursuing a masters.
I wish I had more time to rock climb. It is real meditative
for me. When you are stuck 50 feet up in the air and are only
holding on by a few fingers the only thing you can think of is
the wall in front of you. It is a great form of meditation.
I wish I had more time to watch movies. I go to movies all
the time. Generally in the afternoon and generally by myself.
I love stories so much. I am learning disabled and I read very
poorly so ther are many stories I wish I could just pour through.
So going to movies is another opportunity for me to experience
stories which I get so much from.
Q: Your house is on fire, what are the three things you grab
on the way out?
G: My journal which consists of three books and a couple of CD's
I have burned. I would grab my box of pictures. And I would
grab…the plastic cell phone which is a toy. It was full
of gumballs when I got it. It was part of a graduation gift
I got from my mom after college. There was a telescope to look
to the sky, a microscope to see the small stuff, a world map
so I would never get lost, there were some bread crumbs so I
would never lose my way, a house key so I could go home, and
the phone which had on it the number of my parents so I could
call home.
Q: How old were you when you first kissed a girl?
G: I was….20 years and 9 months. It happened my Jr. year
of college.
Q: What is the most hurtful thing said to or about you?
G: I was out one night when we were on the road. I was talking
about how I would like to one day run a school for teenage boys
who had convicted of felonies and tried as adults. The school
would be an alternative to prison a prison system where they
would be children with men. The school would provide education
and they would also have to work to help pay their way. If they
don't like it, they could go back to prison. I was explaining
this to someone and they just turned to me and said, "That
is really hard. I don't think you can do it." I was raised
in a context which my dreams were always encouraged, as wacky
as they may seem. My folks were always supportive. To be told
I was incapable of something I was dreaming about was very hurtful.
Q: You are getting older…
G: I am over the hill. 26 is the beginning of the end. The
hair starts falling off the head and starts sticking to your
back.
Q: How are you going to preach the Word of God to teens?
G: Now that I am a geezer how I am going to reach teens….I
have a friend by the name of Steve Herara who at first glance
you would think young people would never relate to him. He writes
more traditional liturgical music for a living, but when he steps
he is genuine about is love of God. And he is just himself.
He doesn't try and be anything he is not. It shouldn't work
from the outside, but it does. I figure as long as I try and
be genuine in who I am, that is the best I can do.
Q: what has been your most embarrassing moment?
G: I don't get embarrassed easily…no I take that back.
I don't get publicly humiliated easily. I will do anything in
the name of ministry for a laugh, but when I do get embarrassed
the back of my ears and the back of my neck blush. Like when
I was asked when I was kissed for the first time. 20 miles out
side of Casper, WY there is a lake and m uncle use to take my
brother, my two cousins, and myself fishing out there. One time
on the way back we stopped at a historical marker and there was
a frog pond there. So we started wading in. The next thing
we knew we were up to our chest in watter. Now my uncle owned
a Caprees Classic with leather seats. He said we could not sit
in the car in our wet pants. So he told us to take them off.
I thought, no big deal. I was wearing green pajama bottoms
under my pants to keep warm. My uncle said I had to take those
off as well. So I am this 4th grader riding down the highway.
From the waist up I am look fully clothed, but we are just cruising
along and I am wear nothing from the waist down. |