Welcome to We Are In Bloom.
A Little About Us.
We empower women by giving them a purpose and teaching them the skill of sewing which provides wholesome jobs supported by Christian relationships. As we teach them to sew, we sow seeds of Jesus' love. All of the profits from our sales go back to our ladies in Thailand and help support Nueng, our full time missionary and teacher.
Meet Nueng Ritter.
Nueng Ritter and her husband, Nathan, are missionaries in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Nueng has always had a heart for others. She wanted to find a way that she could reach out and encourage women in her community. She found that there are many women that don’t have regular jobs due to having disabilities, young kids at home, or a lack of education or experience. Nueng knew that she needed to build relationships with these women to establish trust.
Nueng has a passion for sewing, specifically making bags and purses, and sews almost every day. She had the idea to use her gifts to teach women to sew. Learning a new skill drives these women to become better and go further, while also helping provide for their families. Currently, she teaches our artisans the skills of sewing and hand-beading. We use this as an an avenue to start planting seeds of Jesus’ love along the way
A little more about Nueng:
Nueng and her husband, Nathan, currently live in Chiang Mai, Thailand with their daughter, Aree, and son, Teron. She is originally from Lampang, Thailand. Nueng loves to tackle DIY home décor projects and crafts. She is also a very talented florist and enjoys arranging flowers in her spare time. On the weekends, you can find her shopping for new fabric, creating new patterns, or out at the local flower market.
Meet Andrea Hefley.
While at Texas A&M University, Andrea traveled to Thailand on two different occasions to do mission work. Little did she know, these experiences would change her life forever. Andrea fell in love with the culture and the people of “The Land of Smiles”. She and Nueng were roommates in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and instantly became best friends. Andrea traveled back to the US to complete her undergraduate degree, but knew that her involvement with Thai people was not finished. She became the only American in the Thai Student Association at Texas A&M, and continued building relationships with the Thai students there. After college, Andrea got married and pursued a Master’s degree. She could not help but feel the need to be a part of her home away from home, Thailand. As Nueng began reaching out to people and started teaching sewing lessons, Andrea began to develop the possibility of turning the idea into a business. Andrea and Nueng share the same vision of helping Thai women become stronger through teaching them how to live a life of purpose.
Andrea and her husband, John, currently live in Athens, Texas with their daughter, Hollis, and son, Beckett. Andrea enjoys creating new recipes, raising chickens, playing with her dogs, cooking for others, and yoga. On the weekends, you can find her cooking or exploring the local Farmer’s Market.