It's time again for C.I.A.'s annual chili dinner fundraiser. Each year we host the fundraiser Chad becomes our head cook. This year we tacked on a games time in the hopes of drawing a bit larger crowd.
We began our morning at 10 am with Chad and Janine sorting out all the food supplies.
In addition to the three types of chili offered we serve Costco buns, coffee, punch, water and dessert.
Here's the CIA group getting instructions from Chad on what to do for each recipe.
The biggest chore is cutting up all the onions. Each year I find this the funnest part because everyone cutting ends up crying. Here you can see that Rosy is very happy she didn't get stuck cutting the onions this time, and is letting Hannah know it.
Jacob and Alex set to work cutting the onions.
Same with Fontana and Leah.
Chris was put on meat detail.
As was Jonah. There was lots of meat to prepare.
The result of tonnes of onion cutting is going to be crying. Hannah takes it in stride.
Alex did too. : ) What beautiful tears.
You can tell Fontana doesn't spend much time in the kitchen. She's holding a wonderful conversation with Leah while cutting celery. You'll notice she isn't looking at the cutting. NOT a good idea. If I didn't know any better I'd think she cut her thumb off.
David was charged with opening the cans of beans.
Some of the chili needed a more hands on approach. Don't worry, they washed their hands.
Here is the end result of all that cutting. Some of those peppers are so hot, just looking at them causes one to sweat.
I think Fontana did cut herself.......her face gives it away don't you think?
Speaking of cutting one's self, Jacob also helped cut the buns. He's using a very sharp knife, but not a cutting board. Can you guess what happened after the first cut?
Yep, you guessed it.....
Chris ended up doing something a bit different this year. He was asked to fry the hotter peppers. The fumes of the peppers filled the air and it was like eating them. Hard on the eyes and throat.
Hannah and Leah were asked to make a sign welcoming everyone. They are so creative. It didn't take much for them to think of something.
Chad is seen here stirring a large pot of chili.
He needed some help, so Jonah stepped in.
Megan here stirring another type of chili, and taste testing. Eeewwwww....
In addition to kitchen prep, we had to set up the fellowship hall. David took the lead in getting things moving.
We keep our kitchen very clean when we do events like this and here's Rosy getting the mop ready to clean off the floors. I think she got more water on herself than in the bucket.
Here's Fontana and Janine getting baskets ready to put the buns into.
Chris and the boys getting our donation envelopes ready for our patrons.
Once we had things set up and all the cooking done, most of the group headed out to Tim's for lunch. I gave the group the camera. This is an interesting picture. Hannah and the words Dairy Queen in the same shot.....hmmmm, I'm wondering if Fontana thinks she's some sort of queen...
Chris must have found this poster on a table in Tim's. They don't look at all alike do they......
Or do they..... : )
They knew that they were going to have chili for dinner, so I don't think any of them ordered it for lunch. : )
Jacob relaxing and sipping his favourite hot chocolate. I'm pretty sure it's not coffee......
On the way back to the church someone must have tried to call the phone in the phone booth. Why else would anyone pack themselves into a phone booth.......why......
Once back at church the group had several hours of free time. Hannah spent hers practicing scales for piano. I remember having to do that when I took piano as a kid. I HATED scales.....still do!
Rosy, Megan and Chris spent time doing homework. What's with this youth group. So contentious. Homework? Amazing.
Just before patrons began to arrive a shot of the fellowship hall. The calm before the storm.
Jacob, Ben and David getting the punch ready.
The chili had been simmering for several hours. It seems that Chad overfilled a couple of the crock pots. : )
Before we knew it it was 5 pm. Our patron's began arriving. Eric seems happy and ready to eat. We had to wait for everyone to arrive as we don't eat in shifts. We got started about 5:15 pm. But we had a full house.
Here are Reuben and Emily settling down for the meal. We will be losing them soon, as they will be moving away. We wish you well as you move and start life in a new congregation.
Here's a panoramic view of the group as they gathered together.
Before the meal I explained the three different types of chili and the process of how things were going to work for the meal. The chili sure smelled good.
Here are the 4 amigo's listening to my talk (well, maybe not) and getting ready to be the servers.
After prayer it was time to let the masses loose to eat. The youth group helped serve the chili, made sure everyone had enough buns to eat and water to drink.
We served Coffee, tea, and punch.
Ben must really be getting harped about his posture, or maybe he has a bad back? What straight posture, and his hand is there helping him out.
We usually have people come in pairs and family units. We put 8 to a table in the hopes that people will mix with each other. This table ended up being at table of 10 with family and extended family. Cool!
I love taking pictures of people eating at our youth events. Some like it, some don't. Some just have know idea that I'm taking the picture. : )
Once everyone was served and satisfied, it was time for the youth group to taste their creations.
It looks like Fontana is really enjoying the chili..... : ) Either that or she's praying...I can't tell which......
After the chili, we served dessert. We cut the various desserts, and began putting them out for people. Leah decided that the kitchen sink would be a good place to drop one of the cakes....LEAH!!!!!
This was a cake that was donated to us. A great black forest cake. It was the first to go....not surprising. : )
Ben and Michael hovering over the desserts. : )
You can tell Hannah is in dance class.
Interesting how she seems to have a dance pose for everything. Simply standing there.
Remember that black forest cake? Leah and Fontana stole some of the edible leaves. Bad Leah and Fontana!
Once the desserts were out, the games came out too. Many of the group stayed around to play games. That was nice to see. Nice to see the generations playing together too.
Eric looks happy as he begins playing Apples to Apples Jr. That's only because he isn't losing.....yet! Seems my daughter ended up winning.....(tee, hee).
A game of bananagrams broke out due to a challenge from Tammy to my wife, Joycegina. Seems like they are both pretty competitive with this game and it was rematch time. George is playing it smart.....he's watching. : )
Hmmm....seems Leah spent some time cleaning up the desserts as we were cleaning up the kitchen. : )
It took a bit of time, but eventually we cleaned up everything.
The intent of this evening was to have some fun, make some money for our youth, and get to know each other better. I think we accomplished these objectives. Thanks to all those who came out for this evening to support our youth. It looks like we made just over $1,700 after expenses. Thanks to the youth who came out and worked hard once again. Thanks Chad and Janine for all your work too.
As we cleaned up the final dishes, and turned all the lights off, we noticed one table still gaming away. Chris and Saskia and Sandy and Cheryl were locked into a game that was almost completed, and they didn't want to leave until they were done. They certainly took our objective of having fun and getting to know each other better very seriously. : ) Nice to see........
Well, we have another Chili fundraiser under our belts. Until next year ....... : )
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