Sometimes, through a series of potholes and roadblocks, some of which you may have caused yourself, you can step into a life you never intended to have. For Tiffany Armesto, that’s precisely what happened.
Tiffany was born in Modesto, California and grew up in a home that she would describe as happy, especially up until the age of 12. “Mom raised me. It was just me and her.”
Tiffany Armesto with her mom,
At 13, her father, who had been estranged from her mother for as long as she could remember, moved back into the home. That time was difficult for Tiffany, as she didn’t know her father well. For years afterward, Tiffany dealt with some deep feelings of abandonment towards her father for leaving and resentment towards her mother for welcoming him back.
Around the time that her parents were reconciling, Tiffany’s cousin took her to a Celebration Center event at a local reservoir. Pastor Mark Hammond, who was the worship leader for the church at the time, led her to the Lord. At the event, a very shy Tiffany had her first experience with the Holy Spirit and began crying. A young boy at the event saw her tears and made fun of her. While she was discouraged by the teasing from a peer, the experience did not create hard feelings towards the church or Pastor Mark. In fact, in the years to come, Tiffany would see Pastor Mark and, eventually, his wife, Nicole, continue to pop up and play an important role in who she was to become.
At 16, a still-shy Tiffany had two good friends who would walk a dark, unwise path with her. The group began meeting up with some older guys. In the beginning, Tiffany only smoked cigarettes and drank socially. Soon, she was smoking weed, and Tiffany explained: “Then everything except heroin. I never used needles, thank God.” At the age of 24, Tiffany found that she was pregnant. Miraculously, she was able to stop all drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol immediately. Throughout the entirety of her pregnancy, she stayed clean.
When her child, a son, was two months old, her best friend came over for a visit. Her friend had some drugs with her and said that she wasn’t going to pressure Tiffany, but as she was heading out the door, she said, “It’s on the dryer.” Tiffany explains that the next space of time was filled with a war within herself: “You know those old cartoons where there is an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other? That’s what was happening to me.” Sadly, the devil won, and Tiffany partook of the loaded meth pipe. The next couple of years are a blur, and even so, she had moments of clarity, describing one instance where she was sitting between two people, with an arm spread across her and another putting a needle in that arm. She thought to herself, “What am I doing?”
It wasn’t long before she began having God encounters. Celebration Center, the church where she originally accepted Christ, was located in the Airport District at the time. Every time Tiffany would drive by the church, she would begin weeping. At this time in her life, Tiffany was working as a massage therapist, and one day, as she was working on her cousin, the cousin started telling of how she had been to Celebration Center and had an “Encounter with God.” As she described the encounter, Tiffany again began to weep. She explains that before her cousin began telling the story, she was high, but as she listened, she sobered and felt the most peace she ever had. Tiffany told her cousin, “I have to go to church with you.”
Celebration Center Exterior
Tiffany returned to Celebration Center that Sunday and rededicated her life to the Lord. She admits she was still heavy in her addiction, but she attended church every Sunday for the next several months. On January 30, 2006, Tiffany’s mother was planning to take her son to protect him from her dangerous lifestyle. One encounter with her parents is burned into her mind, as Tiffany, exasperated and afraid of losing her son, said to her parents: “Can’t you see I need help!?!” At the time, Tiffany’s father was in recovery and knew just who to contact. On January 31, 2006, Tiffany turned the corner and began her recovery journey.
Tiffany would enter an in-patient rehab and then transition into a sober living environment. A sober living environment is a home for individuals actively pursuing recovery. The house is sober, meaning no drugs or alcohol allowed. This sober location allows the individuals to seek employment and re-learn to live alone, still having some support but without the watchdog nature of the live-in rehab centers. It is a step in the right direction of living alone and learning to handle the pressures of everyday life. It was here, in the sober living environment (SLE), that she would meet her husband, Michael Armesto. Michael, in recovery himself, was the director of the SLE. The chemistry between the two was evident, but they did not start seeing each other until she was out of the home.
Before the couple married, Michael asked Tiffany’s father for her hand in marriage. He consented. Sadly, one week later, her father passed away unexpectedly, just two years after Tiffany had gotten clean. The Armestos were married in 2008, and each brought a four-year-old boy into the marriage. In 2014, they welcomed a daughter.
Michael and Tiffany Armesto
January 31st, the date of the beginning of Tiffany’s sobriety journey, would become a significant, sad date for the Armestos, leaving a bittersweet taste. On January 31, 2015, Michael’s mother passed. On the same date in 2016, exactly ten years after she began her sobriety, Tiffany’s mother would have a catastrophic heart attack that would result in her death just three days later. Tiffany shares that she and Michael were both in a very dark place, but they made it through – clean. Tiffany turned to Michael during this time and said, “We’re all alone in this world.” She would share that sentiment later with Pastors Mark and Nicole Hammond. Pastor Nicole would shut down that thinking quickly: “You are not alone! We are here. You belong to us!”
Tiffany’s journey has strengthened the areas of her personality that God had already established. She is the picture of empathy and compassion. She is quick to help, quick to share burdens, and quick to pray. Like Mary Magdalene in Luke 7, “She who has been forgiven much loves much.” This love for others led Tiffany and Michael to begin working with the Life Recovery Ministry at Celebration Center in Modesto, California. This work sparked a desire to study the Word of God more in-depth, and Tiffany took that leap of faith and recently completed a Master of Theology degree through Advantage College.
Tiffany Armesto and Family at Her Recent Master of Theology Graduation
Three years ago, Pastors Mark and Nicole Hammond, now the lead pastors for Celebration Center, saw the depth of love the Armestos had for those walking their recovery journey and asked them to become the Life Recovery Pastors.
Pastors Mark and Nicole Hammond with Tiffany and Michael Armesto
Life Recovery was started five years ago by “Mama Liz” Tillman and Lisa Frazier. Frazier has since moved to Idaho, but Mama Liz is still heavily involved. She began her recovery journey 24 years ago and has empathy and compassion in spades. Mama Liz is the bus driver for a local men’s drug rehab in Modesto. Tiffany explains that it is impossible to know how many men she has influenced and taught to “live again” after addiction.
Mama Liz Tillman and Lisa Frazier
Caption: Mama Liz Tillman and Lisa Frazier
Life Recovery Ministry is a faith-based 12-step program, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, with the most significant exception being that the “higher power” Life Recovery stresses is Jesus Christ. Another difference is that the Life Recovery meetings invite anyone with any addiction, not just substance. Examples might be pornography, shopping, cell phones, or any other object or situation that would lead to an unhealthy relationship of dependence. Tiffany also explained that other mainstream recovery programs tend to say, “Once an addict, always an addict,” but she likes to say, “What God sets free is free indeed! You just have to be wise and protect yourself.”
Mama Liz Tillman, Lisa Frazier, Tiffany and Michael Armesto
The meetings, held every Thursday night, are very structured; each week of the month has a different emphasis. The first week is “Testimony Night,” where the Armestos ask one member to share their personal journey. The second week is “Topic Night,” touching on topics such as forgiveness, hope, resentment, or whatever the Lord may lay on the leaders’ hearts. The third week is “Step Night,” where the group looks at the corresponding month’s step. So, in October, since it is the tenth month of the year, the group would study the tenth step: “We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.” The fourth week is “Chip Night,” where the members are given a chip to mark how many days, weeks, months, or years of being clean they have reached. This night is always a big celebration. Tiffany shared that the first and last nights of the month are always the most well-attended. She also emphasized that God has used the Life Recovery ministry as a net, to bring people to Celebration Center and ultimately into a relationship with Him; they see 130-200 people in attendance each week.
Caption: Celebration Center, Life Recovery Meeting
Hand-in-hand with the work they are already doing with the Life Recovery Ministry, the Armestos had a dream deep in their hearts that always seemed far off into the future: Opening a SLE (sober living environment) of their own. Unexpectedly and swiftly, this dream has begun to unfold. Recently, two houses were put under their care; they have named this new area of their ministry “Paradigm Freedom Center.” These homes are to be used for sober living, and the Armestos are working diligently to get everything in place. They already have a few inhabitants, with one house set aside for males and one for females. The Armestos are working to learn the laws that govern such dwellings. They will also be instituting their own rules: Each resident must be actively involved in a recovery program, attend three weekly meetings, be employed or actively looking for employment, contribute to the household financially, and submit to drug testing as needed. Tiffany is excited about this new season of life, especially about the beautiful homes they have been given to manage. Tiffany stated that she feels it’s important for the residents to live in a beautiful home, something they can be proud of. They have come out of addiction and are no longer living the same. This is a step up. A step above. She wants the residents to think, “Oh wow. I’m worth this!”
Tiffany’s journey has been full of potholes and roadblocks; even so, she is so thankful to be on the path of righteousness now. As mentioned earlier, the Armestos have three children between them, and they are so grateful that, for the most part, their children never saw the destruction and pain caused by their former addictions. Even so, their work with those in recovery has absolutely shaped their children. One son serves by manning the sound booth for the Life Recovery meetings, and the other serves on the security team. Both boys are living a life without drugs. Their daughter, even though born several years after their sobriety began, is also influenced by their recovery journey. She has seen the family work and serve at Celebration Center and witnessed the compassion and strength they share with those walking a recovery journey. Recently, the ten-year-old was trying to explain the concept of “recovery” to a friend, and she explained, “They’re clean. They’re clean!”
Indeed.
The Armestos: Tiffany, Aiden, Jazmine, Michael, and Michael Jr.
