Joe Zernhild shares how a simple volunteer email turned into his first trip out of the country and a two-week mission to bring electricity to a Guatemalan village for the very first time. We talk through the culture shock, the hands-on reality of building lines without bucket trucks, and the moment the lights finally came on for families who had never flipped a switch. 

• volunteering for the Guatemala mission trip and preparing for first international travel 
• what a journeyman lineman does at our co-op and how different the work feels abroad 
• two-day journey to the village and working with only climbing tools 
• seeing daily life without electricity, including indoor cooking fires 
• wiring 50-plus homes plus a school, churches, and a health facility 
• the emotional impact of turning the lights on for the first time 
• safety and health benefits of electric cooktops replacing indoor fires 
• advice for linemen and anyone considering mission-driven work 

If you'd like to learn more about the mission trips that this organization provides throughout the world, check out www.NRECA International.com 

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