I was thrilled to be able to experience the Great American Solar Eclipse (as the media dubbed it) this August. What an utterly amazing experience!
As you probably saw in my previous post, we had an ordination for Leon. Elvin and Rachel stayed with us that Sunday night because they wanted to see the eclipse that next day, along with a group of others.
We woke to a drenching rain the next morning. After we left, it seemed to clear up some and we could even see blue sky through the clouds! We only hoped it would last...
Dad decided to go somewhere near Amazonia and Savannah, MO. As we were driving along, the clouds parted enough to let us see the eclipse as it was beginning. We were wild with excitement! Our hopes were quickly dashed as it clouded up again and even started to sprinkle. It was decided to join Leon's group at a small park.
As we waited, a lot of us were silently praying that the clouds would part just long enough for us to see totality. God answered our prayers in the most amazing way! A patch clear of clouds appeared around the sun, allowing us to watch as the last bit of sun slipped behind the moon. All the people gathered in the park erupted into cheers. Some people were crying. I stood and watched in awe as it all unfolded. I'm not sure why it affected everyone in such a powerful way. Maybe because of how God answered our prayers. Maybe it was watching nature's phenomenon. Maybe we were just overwrought with excitement. I don't know. Whatever the case might have been, we reveled in every minute of it! Thank you, Jesus!
We enjoyed two minutes and 35 seconds of totality! What an experience!
Once we saw the sun well on it's way back to being the sun again, the clear patch of sky clouded over again. I mean, how amazing is that? God is so good! I feel so privileged to have been able to experience such a stunning event.
"Rain, rain go away! Come again another day!"
Sam got some Flarp at Casey's.
It kept them entertained (along with the rest of us) for the majority of the 2.5 hour drive there and back.
Waiting...
Ezra didn't seem to mind that he was holding a very girly looking umbrella. 😂
This was taken right before totality.
Almost there!
Totality!
Jen had wanted to see the "diamond ring" effect. This happens just as the sun starts to reappear. I had never heard of it till that moment, but was still absolutely thrilled to be able to witness it!
Thank you, Google, for a good, clear picture of the diamond ring!
Because the shadow isn't everywhere at once (I know, brilliant statement), it looked like sunset all around us. Night creatures even started to make their little night creature noises!
After the sun started to return to normal, someone suggested we sing. A man standing near us had tears pouring down his face as we sang. How special!
KK gathered us together for a group picture...
On the way home the clouds cleared up occasionally giving us a good view of the sun. We only had three eclipse glasses between all seven of us so we took turns wearing them and craning around in the van for a good view.
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