Some of you may recognize the name Olin Stockwell. He was the last Methodist Missionary out of China when the Communist take-over came in 1949. Before he left the country, he was in prison for a time. He was placed in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison surrounded by dozens of other cells housing faceless prisoners. It was close to Christmas. From one of the distant cells came the solo sounds of a favorite Christmas carol...sung in Chinese. Olin Stockwell joined in the singing...in English. Through the night, these two men, never able to see each other's faces, continued to join in singing the carols of the season.

A few days later, guards came to get Olin Stockwell. He was to be released from prison and deported from the country. As he walked with the guards through the ban…