Northern Ukraine, 25 July 2013. A van of folks from a church saw a woman walking the streets of Odessa looking like she was due to deliver a baby any day, and without resources. All of this was in fact the case; she had no place to stay. They stopped and offered assistance. Together they arranged for the expectant mother to travel from the southern region of Ukraine to the opposite end of the country in the northern region, transferring through Kiev and gaining the assistance of Ezra International. The goal was for her to find boarding at Toichna Nachnyom – a rehabilitation ranch in northern Ukraine. The expectant mother had no papers allowing her to travel as are still required in this post-Soviet country. The church folks bribed the officials and off she went.
Far from any city or town of any size, in the remote, rural reaches of northern Ukraine, lies a tiny farming hamlet that time has forgotten. The structures well predate the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Many buildings are long abandoned and are being steadily reclaimed by the earth. Those still in use have no plumbing, are heated by wood burning furnaces, and may or may not have electricity. Water is hoisted from wells in buckets. The school and community center are both closed. A few vehicles are parked here and there. But transportation by walking and horse-drawn wagon are as common. The age of the farm equipment spans at least a century, including some modern, and some from the height of the Soviet era. The town’s only market is less than the size of a 7-11 and not nearly as well stocked, except for the liquor. No exaggeration, the shopkeeper uses an abacus to make change.
Into this time capsule have come Victor, his wife Olga, and their 11 children, to found Toichna Nachnyom, Точна Начнем in Russian, pronounced TAUCH-na NAUCH-nee-ohm.
Victor is a former member of the Hungarian mafia. He himself restored, Victor’s mission now is to build a ranch for healing and restoration of broken lives. When one asks Victor which of the many children that might be around at any given time are his, his answer can be a little vague. To Victor, anyone who needs a place to stay is one of his kids.
Who lives at Toichna Nachnyom? Anyone who needs a place. Many are recovering alcohol and drug addicts. Others are disabled or homeless. The expectant mother from Odessa joined another young mother with an infant who had nowhere else to go. About 30 people are living there now. The nine people who were baptized at the children’s river camp came from Toichna Nachnyom.
“Toichna Nachnyom” is a good name for the ranch. “Toichna” is slang for “true,” “correct” or “exact.” “Nachnyom” is “we start” or “beginning.” So a rough translation might “true beginning,” or “together we start over at the correct place.” Victor explained it this way: suppose one is counting from an incorrect place, discovers the true or correct (“toichna”) place of beginning and starts over (nachnyom) counting from there.
How beautiful to name this place of restoration for those experiencing brokenness or need to be a place not only to start over, but to start over from the true or correct place. Even the rustic and rural setting adds to the feeling of going back in time to find a “true beginning” or place from which to start anew. The plural of “we” from “nachnyom” appropriately suggests this starting over will be in community.
With the help of supporters, Victor has purchased a 35 acre farm that includes an array of buildings, stables and sheds in a variety of states of repair and habitability. Two structures have been refurbished into men’s dorms, one with about 12 beds and one with about 4. The smaller of the two is also the camp bakery, producing a steady supply of fragrant homemade bread. Another structure is a combination women’s dorm for about the same number of residents and what is for now the camp kitchen and dining room. The kitchen has running water, meaning that if one pours water into a tub mounted high on the wall, it will run through a line into a nearby sink.
A new dorm for mothers with babies is being finished. As it turned out, the expectant mother from Odessa needed a C-section, which Bruce paid for her to have at the nearest hospital. Baby Maria was one week old when we visited. Perhaps Maria’s mother thought of Mary the mother of Jesus, who also needed refuge when she was about to give birth, as the name sake for her baby.
Maria’s mother and the staff were concerned that Maria was not gaining weight. Victor and Maria’s mother brought Maria to the children’s camp on the river for us to pray for her on their way to the hospital. She was soon discharged and declared to be in good health.
The facilities at Toichna Nachnyom are painted with clean cheerful colors, and outfitted with cozy furnishings. All of them are heated with Russian wood burning furnaces in the center of the building. The plaster exterior of the fire-box and chimney heats up too hot to touch as a source of radiant heat. If its safety is in doubt its effectiveness is not, proven over centuries of Ukrainian winters.
A worship center that will seat 50 or so is nearing completion of its refurbishment. Victor is not only the founder and director of Toichna Nachnyom, he is also the pastor.
A barn that has probably never had a floor is slated to be built out as the future camp kitchen and dining hall.
Toichna Nachnyom is nearly self-staining. The residents raise a variety of fruits and vegetables, canning much of the produce for the winter and storing them in the root cellars that are dug out under almost every building. Some are sold to help support the operations. Toichna Nachnyom is raising sheep, geese, cows, hogs, fish and honey. At the children’s camp on the river, we were fed in part by the bread, cheese, honey and other produce from Toichna Nachnyom. Mmmmmmm.
During the winter, just $300 per month for flour and electricity is all Toichna Nachnyom requires beyond what it produces itself. The hope is that as the fish pond and other efforts take root, Toichna Nachnyom will be completely self-sustaining.
Toichna Nachnyom will be snowed in during winter with 10 feet of snow. There is a tractor for farming, due to be replaced, but during winter months transportation in and out is by horse drawn sleigh.
The economics of building out Toichna Nachnyom are amazing. Nearby houses, admittedly modest, but including their land are being purchased for some $1,200. Refurbishing one house to make it habitable is another $1,000. The labor is supplied by the residents. Three new neighboring buildings are in the process of being purchased and refurbished. At least one of these will probably be available for a family.
Ezra International’s division, Children’s Rescue Center, is supporting Toichna Nachnyom. The mission of Toichna Nachnyom is broader than just children, but children are clearly beneficiaries of its ministry, both directly, and as a result of ministry to their parents. Toichna Nachnyom is essentially the sponsor of the children’s camp on the river. And it is essentially the only known resource for humanitarian and social support in the region.
More photos of Toichna Nachnyom can be seen here: https://picasaweb.google.com/114824553535557120193/TrueBeginningsRanch.
Maria and her mother have found not only refuge, but along with a growing community, a place for starting over at the true place of beginning.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Rev. 21:1-5a.