06/09/2026
Meet the owner:
I’m Rita, sole proprietor of Welcome Back Baked Goods, and I wear many hats. I’m a stay-at-home-mom, pastor’s wife, counselor, and cottage baker.
I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and had lofty dreams of becoming a ballerina, then a lawyer, and finally a news anchor. None of which I ended up doing. 😂 Isn’t life funny like that? I have gone on a wild ride instead and have experienced things I never expected.
I got a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Mississippi University for Women, was a pharmacy technician, and travelled the world doing short-term mission work in young adulthood. I spent time in Mexico, China, England, Canada, and Thailand.
In between Canada and Thailand, I moved to Fort Worth, TX to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to pursue a degree which would prepare me to become a career missionary as a single woman. God had other plans and doors closed for me. I changed my degree plan and began to pursue biblical counseling. I met my future husband that same semester. We married almost 2 years later.
In our first year of marriage, leading up to Thailand, I fell increasingly ill with no explanations. I almost wasn’t able to make the trip and also fell ill on the trip, but God was still able to use me for His glory.
During those first years of marriage and my last years of seminary, I was a residential housekeeper, a clerk at the campus store and post office, a children’s ministry intern, and a church receptionist. Then I graduated with a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Biblical Counseling.
Shortly after, I worked for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as an admin assistant in the Pastor/Church Relations and Church Health & Leadership Department for 5 years. My job had me working with a lot of pastors. I counseled many informally on the phone and learned that many had been hurt by their churches. I vowed to never be a pastor’s wife. (So naturally, God later had me become a pastor’s wife. 😆)
During my time at the SBTC, after years of unexplained chronic illness and also infertility, I was finally diagnosed with Endometriosis and Interstitial Cystitis and had surgical treatment. Then, I gave birth to my two beautiful children. ❤️ Between children, I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy, though I had been voluntarily eating gluten-free for 4 years already, because it brought some relief. No wonder!
During my second pregnancy, I started having intense pain and difficulty walking. After giving birth and months of PT, we discovered I had torn the tissues around my hip joints and needed two back to back hip surgeries. Right before the 2nd surgery, my husband was hired as a pastor for a church in China, Texas. That’s how we ended up in SE Texas.
Shortly after arriving, the pain and difficulty in walking returned, and we discovered I had torn both hip tissues again! All that pain, recovery, and PT to end up back where I began. It was at this point a rheumatologist diagnosed me with an autoimmune disorder of the spine and pelvis called Ankylosing Spondylitis and also Fibromyalgia. I needed a reconstruction of my hip tissue which had a rigorous recovery. With each surgery, I relearned to walk. Later, my allergist realized my wheat reactions were autoimmune-like and told me I likely also had Celiac Disease.
So here we are! What a whirlwind! Life has taken me on a rollercoaster of highs and lows. I bear scars that represent both pain and healing, some physical, some emotional. But I wear them proudly. Because I have learned through it all to trust the one who is in control and works all things for my good, Jesus Christ. I have hope because of Him.
This journey I have shared with you has helped me to become a compassionate individual who hates to see others in pain or feeling left out. And that is why I bake gluten-free for you. Life is hard, but I’d like to remain joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer, showing hospitality (Romans 12:12-13) I hope Welcome Back Baked Goods can be a blessing for you. ❤️🙏🏻
If you want to share your story of chronic illness or trials below, I’d love to hear from you and pray for you.
P.S. I purposely chose this picture, because I used to be afraid to show my scars, but I’m not anymore. They tell a story of hope.
