OPEN LETTER FROM JAMES YON

James Yon has been visiting Glyncoch Christian Fellowship Church for the last couple of months. He wrote the following letter in appreciation of his time spent in our community.

To the community of Glyncoch:

Hello my name is James Yon and I have been living in Glyncoch since June 9th. I came over here with a group of Americans to be a volunteer church worker. I have been living with David and Sylvia Carr and have been working with the church Glyncoch Community Christian Church. I have also been helping out with the community centre on Thursday nights with the youth and have been training with the rugby team on Tuesday nights. There are some things that I would like to share with you all about what I have experienced this summer living in your community.

I really have enjoyed being apart of your community this summer with the warm welcoming and acceptance that you gave me when I arrived. The community centre opened their doors and allowed me to work with the youth on Thursday nights. There I was able to get to know the youth by hanging out with them. We played games like rugby, ultimate Frisbee, rounders, cricket, and football. The youth in Glyncoch have a lot to offer. I found that the music program that they put on was fantastic. The girls did a great job being on stage for the first time and the boys were great singing their song. I was pleased to see a huge turn out of the community coming to see their performance. The youth workers are great. They take a lot of time out of their schedules to spend time with the youth, giving so much of their hearts and it is truly paying off.

Another area that has blessed me has been the Rugby Club. When I arrived here, the one thing that I wanted to leam to do was to play Rugby- Welsh style. I asked David Carr if he knew of anything that I could attend where I could leam and he said the Rugby Club. When I got there I was thinking that they would not let an American play or train with them; but they did! Lee, the trainer/coach, allowed me to experience true Welsh rugby. It has been such an amazing summer and it's going to be really hard leaving this wonderful community. The reason that I am writing this article is to let the rest of Pontypridd know what an amazing community Glyncoch really is. I have heard negative stories about the community being filled with violence and have been given looks of caution when I tell people where I'm living. However, I have found the community to be a very pleasant place to be. I've walked around Glyncoch several times at night by myself, without ever being scared for my life. The community in Glyncoch is something special. After building relationships with the people, I now have car horns blown at me while people give me the 'thumbs up'. I have youth yelling out my name when I walk by their houses, just to say hello. The rugby club continues to teach me about true camaraderie, something that is evident in the community as a whole. I hope that by writing this article, people outside of the community will view Glyncoch in a different light. I am truly an outsider living in this community, getting to see this place as it truly is. This group of people are now family to me. Thank you to all who have allowed me to live, to work and to play in Glyncoch. I will never forget this summer and I hope that I will be able to come back for a visit.

James Yon