Cody and Brittany McCune were on their way home from work when they got a call from their neighbor saying, “Everything is gone.” On that day, February 24, 2016, the tornados that swept through the Appomattox area destroyed their house and everything that they owned. They were in shock as they watched the tornado coverage on the news from their parents’ house and were devastated at the thought of piecing their life back together.

Their friends Chris and Kay immediately opened up their home and invited the McCunes to move in while they got things sorted out. “As soon as they heard what had happened, they went out and bought us clothes and supplies to get us started and welcomed us into their home,” said Brittany.

In the following months, Brittany’s grandfather passed away unexpectedly and then she lost her job. Everything was just falling apart. “I didn’t really have a relationship with God,” said Brittany. “I was angry and depressed, but my friend Kay had a strong relationship with God and she kept turning me toward God.”

Cody knew about God but didn’t really have a relationship with him. “Things started to change for me when I would listen to Brittany and Kay talk about God. I saw Brittany growing and I wanted to grow too,” Cody said.

Cody and Brittany attended the fall session of MarriageWorks last year, which was a huge turning point for Cody. On the retreat, some of the guys were talking to Cody about God. “I wanted to know God but didn’t know how,” said Cody. “Some of the guys told me how, and I prayed and began my relationship with God that night.”

Both Cody and Brittany felt that getting baptized was their next step. Brittany went to the baptism meeting and in talking through her journey realized that she didn’t really have a relationship with Christ. “I prayed right there in the meeting and asked God to forgive me and entered into a relationship with Him,” Brittany said.

After getting baptized together in December, Cody and Brittany have both continued to grow in Christ. “God has taught me how to turn to Him in everything and not to fix things on my own. I can trust Him and know that in every circumstance He has a plan,” said Brittany.