The Ukrainian Saints Who Arrived Afraid and Left Transformed
While serving at the Freiburg Germany Temple, Phil and Donna witnessed Ukrainian Saints arriving by the busload. Most were new members of the Church in Ukraine — a community that had only recently emerged from the Soviet era. They had no idea what to expect in the temple. They came afraid. Over four or five days — moving through baptisms for their ancestors, endowments, and sealings — Phil watched something change in them. 'By the time they left, there were tears and hugs.' He says it quietly but repeatedly: 'They were changed.' A community now scattered by war, this story preserves their early devotional life.
Key Lessons
- • Sacred experiences can transform people profoundly and quickly.
- • What people are afraid of is often what they most need.
- • Showing up uncertain is still showing up — and that matters.
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
Related Episodes
(4)Ephraim Hanks' Descendant: Phil Hanks Shares His Journey
Phil Hanks
How BYU–Pathway Is Changing Lives Worldwide: Accessible Online Learning
Melissa Everett
From Nursing to Missions: Joan Collett’s Story
Joan Collett
Faith, Family History, and Service with Reid & Katie Madsen
Reid and Katie Madsen
Related People
(4)Phil Hanks
Grandson of Ephraim Hanks · Mission President (Samoa) · Temple President (Samoa) · Church Education System Leader · Stake President · Senior Missionary (Ukraine, Freiburg) · Lehi Resident
Andy Hadfield
Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Lara Bangerter
Manager, Lehi Historical Society & Archives
Doug Webb
Former Principal, Lehi High School · Agriculture & Science Teacher · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Related Stories
(4)'I’m Ready Now': Ephraim Hanks and the Handcart Rescue
Phil Hanks
Called as Mission President at 28 — Before He Even Knew
Phil Hanks
Svetlana Still Teaching in Ukraine
Phil Hanks
Baby Land — A Place of Refuge Most People Don't Know About
Paige Albrecht
Related Quotes
(4)"They were changed."
— Phil Hanks
"Stay faithful and serve to the best of your abilities wherever you live."
— Phil Hanks
"I’m ready now."
— Ephraim Hanks (quoted by Phil Hanks)
"We should have been afraid, but I wasn’t."
— Phil Hanks
Related Themes
(3)Public Service
Stories of neighbors who stepped up to serve their community through elected office, committees, volunteer work, and civic engagement — often starting not with noble ambition, but with a single meeting they decided to stay for.
Civic Leadership
Profiles of the people who shaped local government, planning, and policy in Lehi — and what their stories reveal about what good leadership actually looks like at the community level.
Community Resilience
How Lehi residents have navigated challenge, change, growth, and hardship — and emerged with optimism, connection, and a deeper appreciation for what they've built together.
More from Phil Hanks
Phil Hanks
'I’m Ready Now': Ephraim Hanks and the Handcart Rescue
On October 6, 1856, Brigham Young issued a call for rescuers for the stranded Martin Handcart Company. Ephraim Hanks was not present. Three weeks later, fishing at Utah Lake and attending a conference in American Fork, he received a prompting that the handcart people needed help. He arrived in Salt Lake City by October 26. When Brigham Young called others to join the rescue and they said they could be ready in a few days, Ephraim said simply: 'I’m ready now.' He prayed one night for food and a buffalo appeared. He shot it with one shot, loaded it on his pack horse, and arrived at the Martin Handcart Company on November 11. He healed the sick, brought a man back to life, and healed a boy whose feet had gangrened so severely that amputation seemed certain. After the blessing, the boy lived a full life.
Phil Hanks
Called as Mission President at 28 — Before He Even Knew
Phil and Donna were in Samoa teaching at a Church school when congratulatory telegrams began arriving. First his mother, then a cousin: 'Congratulations, President.' He had no idea what they meant. After six weeks of delayed mail due to a Pan-American Airlines strike, letters finally arrived including a call from the First Presidency to preside over the Samoa Mission. Phil was 28. Donna was 27. They came home for ten weeks, attended the mission presidents' seminar with all 61 mission presidents in the world at the time, were set apart, and returned July 1 to lead the mission. Phil said simply: 'We should have been afraid, but I wasn’t.'
Phil Hanks
Svetlana Still Teaching in Ukraine
After two missions to Ukraine — first in Kyiv, then returning to the same city, same apartment, same assignment — Phil and Donna built deep friendships. Years later, Russia’s invasion scattered the Ukrainian Saints: friends in Germany, Hungary, Portugal, the United States. One friend stands out: Svetlana, a schoolteacher who became a dear friend when Phil and Donna taught English at a local elementary school. The schools have been destroyed. Svetlana is still there — still in Ukraine — teaching her students online.
Related Stories
Charlene Freestone
The Natural Parenting Boutique on Lehi Main Street
Charlene opened a natural parenting boutique — Boot Baby Boutique — in the old Lehi Hotel near the train tracks on Lehi Main Street. The shop sold cloth diapers and baby carriers, but its heart was parent education and community space. She rented from a midwife in a building that also housed a gem shop and wedding dress rentals. The business later moved up to Sandy but represented a season where business and belonging overlapped.
Charlene Freestone
COVID Ends One Chapter and Opens Another
On the day of the Utah earthquake in 2020, Charlene realized parents were not going to bring small children into stores the same way anymore. She folded her boutique quickly, sold her share to co-owners, and stepped away from both retail and nonprofit worlds. She then worked at her children's school as a teacher's aide during COVID, witnessing how everyone banded together to keep things going.
Charlene Freestone
I'm Back, But This Time I'm Helping
Charlene's son was born with needs requiring surgeries. A nurse with child passenger safety training helped her family during the car seat oxygen test. Exactly 12 years later, Charlene began working with Intermountain at Utah Valley Hospital — on the exact anniversary of her son's discharge. Looking at her badge, she thought: 'I'm back, but this time I'm helping people here.'