ILLINOIS—On January 13, over 40 members from the Horicon, Wisconsin, and Chicago congregations combined for services at the Warrenville Community Gym in Warrenville, IL. Sabbath services began this Family Winter Weekend held in Chicago.

After church services, members conversed over a Chicago-style catered dinner. After sunset, the gym was transformed into a venue for a minute-to-win-it style game night involving balloons, plastic spoons, plastic cups, ping-pong balls and a lot of coordination. The games were organized by deacon Jim Privratsky. The members were divided into four teams to participate in a series of games, one of which required participants to carry a ping-pong ball on a spoon. Adding to the challenge, members could only use their mouths to hold the spoon.

Horicon member Nick Bush said the game night coordinator “did a great job planning and organizing the event to keep it fun and exciting.”

The next day, around 20 members met at the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. They spent the next few hours walking around and looking at exhibits displaying river, lake and ocean life. Some of the main attractions were dolphins, beluga whales, sea otters and “touchable” starfish. At the end of the tour, members saw a special spotlight show of a penguin.

Chicago member Alphonso Mallit said there were two main things he liked about the aquarium trip. “First, I was happy we stayed together because I love fellowshipping. Second, I enjoyed the different species of aquatic animals.”

Preaching Elder David Weeks said, “There was some snowfall in Wisconsin that prevented a handful of brethren from making it down to Chicago. However, God blessed the Chicago area with clear roads throughout the weekend. Overall, the weekend was a great success!”