DAA # 8

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APeXMinistries.com

Number 8
Nov. 1st, 2000

Greetings once again from the homes and offices of the International Conglomeration known to friends and family alike as APeX Ministries. We hope that you received your weight in Halloween candy, but had enough sense not to eat it all at once.

For many of you this is the first Digital APeX Attacks you have received. (We have added over 300 people since the last one went out.) For those of you who are new to all of this, here is what's going on. Once a month (or so) we here at APeX like to send you a little something to make you laugh a bit, and give some inspiration to help you think a little about your relationship with God. (Sometimes this even happens at the same time, as scary as that might seem.) We also like to let you know what is going on with the ministry, and share some of the wacky things that have happened to us in the last month of our lives. If there have been any updates to our web page, we'll let you know that, too, in this newsletter. Finally, we include our up coming schedule in hopes that you will take a few moments to pray for those whom we are blessed to serve. Those prayers are an essential part of our ministry!

For those of you who have received these in the past: Yes we are still alive! A number of transitions have taken place in the last few months that have not given us the time we would have liked to work on this. Primarily, Brad and his wife Joia have moved to Denver, Colorado. To answer your first question: No Brad did not move to get away from Gene's smelly feet. (At least that wasn't their main reason for moving.) To answer your second question: No, this is NOT the end of APeX as you have come to know it. We are going to continue our ministry. With today's technology we can still function as if we were in the same town (not to mention the fact that we see each other about three days a week on average anyway… oops, I guess we just mentioned it). We will just be flying from different parts of the country to get places. We know rumors are flying about that we are no longer doing ministry together. They are simply not true. (We fear the "little greens" may be responsible for starting these unfounded rumors. Don't believe them.)

APeX Attacks # 7, our paper newsletter (a completely separate entity from this digital newsletter), was mailed out a month ago. If you did not get one and would like one let us know.

IMPORTANT!! If you did get an APeX Attacks in the mail (we mean the paper one, not the electronic one) and you do NOT send us the AIN (the little number after your last name) off of your mailing label, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE APEX ATTACKS IN THE FUTURE! Also, if you are getting multiple copies, please let us know.

Make sure you check out the changes to the web page. (see below)

Your brothers in Christ
Gene and Brad

PS: Don't forget to forward this on to your friends who would appreciate it.

A Question For You
While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought
Prayer time with Brad
Up coming shows
Web Page Updates

A Question For You
Do you want free stuff? (Of course you do!) Well here is your chance to get some APeX Points (see new free points scoring system). Extra points are given for creativity. We know this question was asked in the last issue, but we are still looking for more creative answers.
If you could interview any one person living or dead who would it be and what three questions would you ask him or her?

Send all responses to Question@APeXMinistries.com Please include your name and home town.

While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought
by Gene David Monterastelli III

Many times after a show someone will come up to me and ask me a question like, "Why did my 17 year old cousin kill herself? She was such a wonderful person." Generally I just mumble something out if I can get anything out at all. I have even been asked point blank by young and old, "Why is there suffering in the world?" I do my best to sound like I have some vague idea. To tell the truth I don't. But, for the first time in my life I have something to share in response to these questions. It does not explain why there is suffering in the world (we probably will never know), but it might give us some perspective on how to deal with it. This story was passed on to me by an old friend. Now as a general rule I do not send forwards. I have never in my life sent a forward to everyone in my address book. The only time I forward anything on is if I think it is really worth while. This is one of those stories. I spent a great deal of time trying to find the author. I found it attributed to a number of people, most commonly by Rabbi Paysach Krohn. I have no idea if the story is true, but it doesn't matter. Even if the event didn't happen it does ring with truth.

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools. At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shaya: One afternoon, Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base. Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Suprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's team-mates came up to Shaya and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung at the ball and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya, run home!" Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."

It is time to pray
By Brad Farmer

In honor of All Saints Day (November 1)…
In the last three digital newsletters I've sort of started a tradition of writing about prayer and challenging our readers to actively pursue it. I have asked you to pray with me, to pray for me, and to pray for those I love. We are part of a community much greater than we can comprehend. We are all parts of one body. Even when we pray in private, our prayers are joined with those of the entire body. Though Christ Himself is the only mediator between us and God, we are still able to pray for one another. This is what Christ asked us to do… so much that we should even pray for our enemies. The early Christian leaders were constantly asking for prayers and encouraging their brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for one another. Since a soul is eternal, even after one has left this earth, they remain in Christ and continue in being a part of His body. There is, then, no reason why we cannot ask even those who have passed before us to pray on our behalf. Therefore, I ask Mary, Jesus' own mother and model of what it means to give yourself wholly, body and soul, to Christ, to pray for us. I ask St. Francis of Assisi, one of my own personal role models, to pray for us. I ask all the angels and saints, all good and holy people who have gone before us, to join us in our prayers. Let us lift our voices together, through the Holy Spirit, to Christ our Savior and to our heavenly Father and Creator. Let these voices throughout the ages, and throughout all aspects of existence be raised together until they become one united voice… a giant shout to our God and an expression of infinite love for Him who love us infinitely!

For those of you who received Digital Apex Attacks numbers 5 and 6, wherein I asked for prayers for members of my family, I would like to thank you once again for any prayers you may have said on mine and their behalf. My mother-in-law underwent surgery to remove a tumor from her colon and is now cancer free. I shout thanks to God who is not bound by any rule of the world He created.

I also asked for prayers for my grandfather, who is now dealing with terminal cancer, and I have no doubt those prayers have been heard as well. These, however, are being answered in a different way, and so I make this prayer now and ask you to join me. I pray that God allow his suffering to be minimal and that He gives abundant grace to those who will miss my grandpa. I pray that we may be strengthened in our faith after this test of suffering and see the beauty of a soul being re-united with its creator face to face. Help us to realize that death is not evil. It has been conquered. Death has been touched by Christ himself and has been made beautiful.

I now invite you to pray for all families who have had to deal with the loss of a child before it ever saw the light of day. May their broken hearts be healed and may they find understanding in the confusion of their loss. Let us also pray for those unborn children whose lives were taken through the selfishness of others, and for those who, for whatever reasons of nature, had a destiny to never walk this earth.
We pray all these things, along with the entire community of saints, in the name of Christ, our healer. Amen.

Up coming shows

Please pray for us and for those we are blessed to serve on these dates

November 2nd St. Mary's Sanduski, OH
November 11th Diocese of Manchester Jr. High Youth Rally Manchester, NH
November 17th-19th Diocese of Yakima Youth Rally Yakima, WA
November 20th-21st Charlotte Catholic HS Sr. Retreat Charlotte, NC

For a complete list of APeX's Schedule please visit:
http://apexministries.com/FutureShows.html
For booking information you can contact APeX at 888/522-2739

Web Page updates

At the end of August we (Gene, Brad, and Joia) had the wonderful opportunity to make a trip to Fairbanks, AK. We have added a number of pictures from the trip to the web page's Gallery. We hope to add some reflection from the trip to the pictures soon. The remodeled Gallery can be found at:

http://apexministries.com/PhotoGalleryMain.html

Important note: If you received this e-mail as a forward from someone else and would like to receive Digital APeX Attacks every time it is published, or if for some reason you have received this e-mail in error from APeX please follow this link to add or remove (though we couldn't imagine why you'd want to remove) yourself from the mailing list:

http://apexministries.com/MailingList.html

© 2000 APeX Youth Ministries, Inc.

--"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."

St. Francis of Assisi

http://APeXMinistries.com

APeXMinistries.com	Number 8 Nov. 1st, 2000
Greetings once again from the homes and offices of the International Conglomeration known to friends and family alike as APeX Ministries. We hope that you received your weight in Halloween candy, but had enough sense not to eat it all at once. For many of you this is the first Digital APeX Attacks you have received. (We have added over 300 people since the last one went out.) For those of you who are new to all of this, here is what's going on. Once a month (or so) we here at APeX like to send you a little something to make you laugh a bit, and give some inspiration to help you think a little about your relationship with God. (Sometimes this even happens at the same time, as scary as that might seem.) We also like to let you know what is going on with the ministry, and share some of the wacky things that have happened to us in the last month of our lives. If there have been any updates to our web page, we'll let you know that, too, in this newsletter. Finally, we include our up coming schedule in hopes that you will take a few moments to pray for those whom we are blessed to serve. Those prayers are an essential part of our ministry! For those of you who have received these in the past: Yes we are still alive! A number of transitions have taken place in the last few months that have not given us the time we would have liked to work on this. Primarily, Brad and his wife Joia have moved to Denver, Colorado. To answer your first question: No Brad did not move to get away from Gene's smelly feet. (At least that wasn't their main reason for moving.) To answer your second question: No, this is NOT the end of APeX as you have come to know it. We are going to continue our ministry. With today's technology we can still function as if we were in the same town (not to mention the fact that we see each other about three days a week on average anyway… oops, I guess we just mentioned it). We will just be flying from different parts of the country to get places. We know rumors are flying about that we are no longer doing ministry together. They are simply not true. (We fear the "little greens" may be responsible for starting these unfounded rumors. Don't believe them.) APeX Attacks # 7, our paper newsletter (a completely separate entity from this digital newsletter), was mailed out a month ago. If you did not get one and would like one let us know. IMPORTANT!! If you did get an APeX Attacks in the mail (we mean the paper one, not the electronic one) and you do NOT send us the AIN (the little number after your last name) off of your mailing label, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE APEX ATTACKS IN THE FUTURE! Also, if you are getting multiple copies, please let us know. Make sure you check out the changes to the web page. *(see below)* Your brothers in Christ Gene and Brad PS: Don't forget to forward this on to your friends who would appreciate it.
A Question For You While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought Prayer time with Brad Up coming shows Web Page Updates
A Question For You Do you want free stuff? (Of course you do!) Well here is your chance to get some APeX Points (see new free points scoring system). Extra points are given for creativity. We know this question was asked in the last issue, but we are still looking for more creative answers. If you could interview any one person living or dead who would it be and what three questions would you ask him or her? Send all responses to Question@APeXMinistries.com Please include your name and home town.
While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought by Gene David Monterastelli III Many times after a show someone will come up to me and ask me a question like, "Why did my 17 year old cousin kill herself? She was such a wonderful person." Generally I just mumble something out if I can get anything out at all. I have even been asked point blank by young and old, "Why is there suffering in the world?" I do my best to sound like I have some vague idea. To tell the truth I don't. But, for the first time in my life I have something to share in response to these questions. It does not explain why there is suffering in the world (we probably will never know), but it might give us some perspective on how to deal with it. This story was passed on to me by an old friend. Now as a general rule I do not send forwards. I have never in my life sent a forward to everyone in my address book. The only time I forward anything on is if I think it is really worth while. This is one of those stories. I spent a great deal of time trying to find the author. I found it attributed to a number of people, most commonly by Rabbi Paysach Krohn. I have no idea if the story is true, but it doesn't matter. Even if the event didn't happen it does ring with truth. In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools. At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shaya: One afternoon, Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base. Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Suprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's team-mates came up to Shaya and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung at the ball and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya, run home!" Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."
It is time to pray By Brad Farmer In honor of All Saints Day (November 1)… In the last three digital newsletters I've sort of started a tradition of writing about prayer and challenging our readers to actively pursue it. I have asked you to pray with me, to pray for me, and to pray for those I love. We are part of a community much greater than we can comprehend. We are all parts of one body. Even when we pray in private, our prayers are joined with those of the entire body. Though Christ Himself is the only mediator between us and God, we are still able to pray for one another. This is what Christ asked us to do… so much that we should even pray for our enemies. The early Christian leaders were constantly asking for prayers and encouraging their brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for one another. Since a soul is eternal, even after one has left this earth, they remain in Christ and continue in being a part of His body. There is, then, no reason why we cannot ask even those who have passed before us to pray on our behalf. Therefore, I ask Mary, Jesus' own mother and model of what it means to give yourself wholly, body and soul, to Christ, to pray for us. I ask St. Francis of Assisi, one of my own personal role models, to pray for us. I ask all the angels and saints, all good and holy people who have gone before us, to join us in our prayers. Let us lift our voices together, through the Holy Spirit, to Christ our Savior and to our heavenly Father and Creator. Let these voices throughout the ages, and throughout all aspects of existence be raised together until they become one united voice… a giant shout to our God and an expression of infinite love for Him who love us infinitely! For those of you who received Digital Apex Attacks numbers 5 and 6, wherein I asked for prayers for members of my family, I would like to thank you once again for any prayers you may have said on mine and their behalf. My mother-in-law underwent surgery to remove a tumor from her colon and is now cancer free. I shout thanks to God who is not bound by any rule of the world He created. I also asked for prayers for my grandfather, who is now dealing with terminal cancer, and I have no doubt those prayers have been heard as well. These, however, are being answered in a different way, and so I make this prayer now and ask you to join me. I pray that God allow his suffering to be minimal and that He gives abundant grace to those who will miss my grandpa. I pray that we may be strengthened in our faith after this test of suffering and see the beauty of a soul being re-united with its creator face to face. Help us to realize that death is not evil. It has been conquered. Death has been touched by Christ himself and has been made beautiful. I now invite you to pray for all families who have had to deal with the loss of a child before it ever saw the light of day. May their broken hearts be healed and may they find understanding in the confusion of their loss. Let us also pray for those unborn children whose lives were taken through the selfishness of others, and for those who, for whatever reasons of nature, had a destiny to never walk this earth. We pray all these things, along with the entire community of saints, in the name of Christ, our healer. Amen.
Up coming shows Please pray for us and for those we are blessed to serve on these dates November 2nd St. Mary's Sanduski, OH November 11th Diocese of Manchester Jr. High Youth Rally Manchester, NH November 17th-19th Diocese of Yakima Youth Rally Yakima, WA November 20th-21st Charlotte Catholic HS Sr. Retreat Charlotte, NC For a complete list of APeX's Schedule please visit: http://apexministries.com/FutureShows.html For booking information you can contact APeX at 888/522-2739
Web Page updates At the end of August we (Gene, Brad, and Joia) had the wonderful opportunity to make a trip to Fairbanks, AK. We have added a number of pictures from the trip to the web page's Gallery. We hope to add some reflection from the trip to the pictures soon. The remodeled Gallery can be found at: http://apexministries.com/PhotoGalleryMain.html
Important note: If you received this e-mail as a forward from someone else and would like to receive Digital APeX Attacks every time it is published, or if for some reason you have received this e-mail in error from APeX please follow this link to add or remove (though we couldn't imagine why you'd want to remove) yourself from the mailing list: http://apexministries.com/MailingList.html © 2000 APeX Youth Ministries, Inc. --"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." St. Francis of Assisi http://APeXMinistries.com