Howie's Testimony

I've been making soap for over 10 years now.  I started out just wanting to make a batch of soap for fun, but the more I researched how "store bought" soap was made, the more I realized I never wanted to use it on my skin.  From the time I made my first batch I was hooked.  I used a basic recipe out of a book for the first couple of batches, but then experimented with various oils until I came up with my very own recipe.  My business came about quite by accident.  I gave my soap to family members and friends and they all loved how it felt on their skin and liked the idea of not having unnatural dyes, synthetic preservatives and various chemicals on their skin.  My soap actually was beneficial to the skin and very gentle and moisturizing.  Everyone wanted more and were willing to pay me for it.  I hadn't intended on it becoming a business, but when my family & friends passed on a few bars to other people, the people started asking where they could get more.  So, I came up with a name for my new business and have been selling my soap ever since.  I decided that since this was a "God incident" I should somehow use my business to help other people.  I especially love childrren so I started giving 10% of every bar sold to "Feed the Children Foundation" and have fed over 25,000 meals to hungry children over the years. 

Lye'n Around Soap'n is still very small, but it puts food on the table.  One local business that is run by the Mennonite community has been selling my soap in their store for several years now and I have the same customers since the beginning and have added more every year just by word of mouth.  I even have a dog soap that I call "Lye'n Dog Soap" that many customers swear by for their dogs.

One of my first customers asked if I had anything for acne so I developed a soap called "Herb 'n' Carrot".  She said her daughter could tell the difference from the first time she used it and it has helped keep her acne under control.  I got an email from a mother who sent her son, who was serving in Iraq, a care package every month.  She said she always included a bar of handmade soap that she would buy from soapmakers who were set up at craft shows.  Then she happened to be in the Mennonite store and bought a bar of my soap to send him.  He wrote to tell her that she didn't need to bother buying any other soap because my soap was the best one he used since he got to Iraq and told her how much it helped his dry skin.  I was thrilled.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Prov. 3:5-6 KJV 

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