My name is Joshua Shapiro. I was born in Great Barrington, MA. My parents were divorced and my mother raised me on Cape Cod. My life was never easy. From a broken home I was heading fast on a road to destruction. I was sixteen when I left home. I wanted to party and have fun. This quickly turned to addictions and a loneliness I had never felt before. I had lots of people around but inside I was broken. I was involved in many things that hurt others and myself, of which I am not proud of. The guilt was too much to bear and I started cutting to bleed it out. I was a drug addict, alcoholic, and violent! I had been incarcerated, and was in trouble with the law. I had no answers or way to stop so I just kept doing what I knew to do. I wanted a way out. That is when a friend of mine, Jermaine Concepcion, told me about the answer he had found. Through the murder of his good friend Spencer, he had found Jesus Christ. God used him to touch me and my life has been changed forever. I decided to tell other close friends of ours: Standly Miranda, Teddy Henning, Andrew Shapiro, and many others. Today I am a pastor in Orlando, Florida. God has been good to me and I am grateful for my salvation!
****The Shapiros are now missionaries in Croatia – all glory to God!