DYR 2022 Worthy

I was blessed with the opportunity to serve as the Director of Worship for this year's Diocesan Youth Retreat for the Diocese of San Jose this past June. This marked a return to Lake Tahoe after a 2-year hiatus due to Covid-19. It was also the 25th year anniversary.

It was wonderful being at Zephyr Point once again. I hadn't been there since 2017 when I last served as worship director. Having moved out of the area within the last year, it was a challenge assembling a team, picking a set list, rehearsing, and ultimately executing the task. By the grace of God, we were able to get it done. I am most thankful for the humble hearts of service that belong to the band members. Their patience and willingness to stretch really went a long way.

Although it was wonderful to be together again, my prayer is that DYR and other initiatives like these act as stepping stones to discipleship...to make disciples, that is the mission!

As for the music, we showcased a lot of original music from various folks around San Jose, among them are Robbie Ocampo, John Kellett, Therese Nguyen, Anna Brown, and myself.

I was able to flex my creativity by writing a new song for the retreat called "Worthy", and I co-wrote the theme song called, "Wonderfully Made" with the talented writing duo, Zita's Keys.

For me, one of the highlights of the week was when we unveiled a song written by my friend Annastasia Brown (Zita's Keys) called "Magdalene". It's a song about reconciliation and healing. We taught the teens and servant leader team the song, and at that point the song had a new life. God breathed life into it through corporate worship. Anna became overwhelmed, hearing it sung by others for the very first time. She could not sing the second verse, so we threw it back to Therese, the other half of Zita's Keys. It was a beautiful moment. As a fellow songwriter, I could not have been more proud of my friend.

Do yourself a favor and check out Magdalene here and go buy it or stream it: