While sitting at the breakfast table, praying and thinking, I found the answer staring me in the face. Actually, it was in my mouth. It was peanut butter. As I have written in the past, God has been helping me start a soap industry to provide local believers with employment income and generate a self-supporting foundation for our medical missionary work in Mali.

God never ceases to amaze me with how He answers my prayers for help with this project. I looked into silicone molds when I was in America this past summer for medical missionary training. Seeing the price tag, I thought, Ooh, ouch! While praying, God inspired me to make my own silicone molds. I had no idea how to do this, but God showed me how. It involved learning to use a 3D animation software called Blender to design a 3D bar of soap to use as my mold master.

Fast forward. I’m back in Mali now with my PLA (Polylactic Acid) master models printed. Polylactic Acid is the thermoplastic filament used in 3D printing. Now I’m making silicone molds from my PLA master model. It has been a slow process because I only have one PLA master model to work from due to the high cost, and since the silicone takes four hours to cure, I have only had time to make four molds daily.

But then God gave me an idea about how to speed up the production of silicone molds by making plaster master mold replicates. However, I ran into some challenges with those plaster molds. When making the silicone molds, I poured the silicone over the master model after first putting a wooden frame around it and sealing it with some clay so the silicone would not leak out. However, my clay would not stick to my new plaster molds. I tried a few solutions to remedy this problem, but my latest idea failed before breakfast on this particular day. The expensive silicone tragically spilled out.

So back to me praying at the breakfast table. God showed me the answer: peanut butter! That stuff sticks to everything. I wonder if I can use that to seal the joint so the silicone won’t leak out. I tried it, and it worked! Now, I can make molds three to six times faster than before.

I have also been praying a lot about my marketing strategy. I was having a problem with the perfume I used in the soap, accelerating the trace (the speed at which my oils began saponification, the chemical reaction that produces soap) and causing spots in my product. God blessed me with another idea: to leave out the problem-causing perfume and use honey instead. The soap has turned out quite fantastic. It has a pleasant, natural honey scent and imparts moisturizing and other beneficial properties.

I am very thankful to God for helping and blessing this endeavor. Beyond the employment provided through this ministry, beyond the medical missionary work it is to fund, the goal is for souls—people here in Mali—to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and His incredible love. Thank you for your prayers and support for this ministry.

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