Most of us can’t imagine a life without electricity.

But for a small village in the mountains of Guatemala, they just turned the lights on for the first time recently.

That’s because of lineman like Ben Hoyt, from Lake Country Power. He and 13 others went to Las Penas as part of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and their International Program.

This was for two weeks in June.

Now homes are hooked up to electricity. “The people were really welcoming, and they did some of the work with us,” he shared. “I thought it would be cool to help people out. And I love adventure.”

It’s more than just having lights. It means the girls can go to school.

“They stayed home to help with making the tortillas and doing the laundry. Now they’ll be able to use appliances to help with that, so that frees up their time so they can go to class,” he told us.

He’s the first lineman from LCP to go on one of these trips, but hopes more will sign up for the next ones. And he’s glad he made some cool connections with the other linemen from Minnesota and Iowa.

Here’s more about the trip: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2094274217615477/about