Cincinnati, Ohio—After two years, the Ambassador Bible College class of 2020 was blessed to be reunited for their class trip over President’s Day weekend in Cincinnati.

Due to COVID-19, our class trip, charity auction and several other key end-of-year activities were canceled for our class. However, we held out hope to be able to see one another once it would not compromise the health and well-being of our classmates. Adam Butler and I worked to coordinate initial planning of the weekend and its activities. We were able to find a beautiful historic home in downtown Cincinnati that was listed on Airbnb from a Christian family. The home was bright and cheery with antique wood features and stained-glass windows throughout. It also had a massive dining room and living room that allowed for home-cooked meals for Sabbath dinner Friday night and a morning brunch before church services.

Saturday evening the current ABC class (class of 2022) graciously hosted a barn ball for ABC alumni to attend! There were snacks, fun music and great games. After dancing for a couple of hours, our class ended the evening back at our Airbnb where we played charades, ping pong and heads up.

Sunday provided an opportunity for our class to relax together as we would have on our class trip. We carpooled downtown to get brunch at a restaurant called First Watch, and from there we split into two different groups based on interest. One group stayed downtown and went to the Contemporary Arts Center where they enjoyed several exhibits. They also walked to Findlay market to enjoy some ice cream and live music! The second group went back to the Airbnb to play games and relax in the hot tub.

Another special aspect of our weekend was that those who attended were able to receive their yearbook! Adrianna Lockhart put together our yearbook and Hannah Riess and Adam Butler helped get it across the finish line in time for our class trip. We finished the weekend making s’mores by the campfire as we reflected on our time together and our class year.

Our class trip took place almost two years after our classes went online due to COVID-19. Although in that time we all went our separate ways, this trip reminded us of the bond we all share of not only having gone through ABC together but having navigated it in a pandemic. I also want to thank the faculty for keeping our funds and enabling us to meet. This weekend couldn’t have happened without their help!

It was a weekend full of laughter, games, dancing, reminiscing, catching up, shared meals, group prayers, and uplifting, edifying and celebrating our class—the ABC class of 2020.