1. Transforming Fears Into Wonder: The Reflections of a Wilderness Director
His pulsating heart leapt into his throat at the sound of the five-letter word, “Snake.”
Instinctively Phineas’ body tensed and his fists clinched, poised for a fight or flight
response. Wide-eyed, the nine-year-old’s wordless plea for mercy was clearly
communicated by his lengthened face. Smiling, the Wilderness Director met his gaze with
compassion and confidence. Steadily and indirectly he acknowledged that some campers
might be fearful of this next creature that he was going to bring out from the Nature Center.
But, he challenged them to push the boundaries of their experience, “If you have never seen
a snake up close, today is the day to look closely; if you have looked closely at a snake
before but never touched one, today is the day to touch one; if you have touched a snake
before but never held one, this is the day and this is the snake to hold.”
Phineas shifted nervously in his chair. He had certainly never held a snake before,
and the idea of touching one made chills run down his spine. He could hardly bear being in
the presence of a snake; how could he look closely at one? As the Wilderness Director
disappeared into the back room, Phineas’ palms began to feel clammy, and his heart
quickened its pace. He stared straight ahead, and the voices of excited chatter coming from
his fellow campers seemed to echo incoherently as the sound of his pounding heart
thumped in his ears. Phineas’ little body gave a subtle jolt as the Wilderness Director
rounded the corner. In his arms was the biggest snake Phineas had ever seen. “This is
Monty, he is our Ball Python. He is quite possibly the best animal that we have here in our
Nature Center!”
“How could such a terrible creature be the best animal at Black Rock?” Phineas
pondered skeptically as he watched the snake’s head sway about, tongue flicking
incessantly. The Wilderness Director went on to explain that of all of the many snakes he
had handled, Monty was by far the most gentle and the most patient.
“I am going to bring Monty around the room so that you all get to touch him before
you hold him. That way you can get an idea of what he feels like.”
“If you do not want to touch him, just let me know and I will pass by you.”
Phineas’ hand shot up, “I don’t want to touch him.”
“That’s okay, Phineas, I will skip you.” A couple more hands were raised, hesitant to
touch the snake. The Wilderness Director started at one end of the circle and began to work
his way around the room. Exclamations of excitement and wonder followed the snake as he
was brought around to each camper.
When the Wilderness Director came to Jill, a camper in Phineas’ sister cabin, she
pushed against the back of her chair, unsure of Monty. Bravely, she affirmed that she
wanted to touch him. “Here, why don’t you touch his tail, and I will hold his head closer to
me, see?” Squeamishly, she poked the tail. Then her face relaxed and she began to stroke
the back of the docile creature. Eyes now wide with wonder, she looked up at the
Wilderness Director, “He is so smooth!” Praises of affirmation from her friends
acknowledged her courage.
As Phineas continued to watch Monty move closer and closer to him, wonder began
to slowly grow within him. Just as the Wilderness Director was about to pass to the camper
next to him, Phineas spoke quickly, “I want to touch his tail!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, just please hold the head.” The Wilderness Director smiled and extended
Monty’s tail to Phineas’ reach. The young camper’s heart raced as he pushed himself

2. beyond all instinct to extent a finger towards the scaly body. Carefully, he made contact,
retracting immediately with a jolt. With some gentle encouragement from the Wilderness
Director, Phineas composed himself and reached for Monty again. This time, he permitted
his mind to process what his fingers were feeling. “It’s not slimy?” he asked with an
inquisitive look on his face.
“No, not at all!” answered the Wilderness Director. “Great job, Phineas!” Slowly
Phineas’ wonder began to consume his fears as he watched Monty complete his first round
around the room. “If you want to hold Monty, hold out your arms like they are strong tree
branches. Let me see everyone practice your tree branches.” Without giving a second
thought, Phineas held out his arms. “Snakes do not have hands to hold onto things like we
do; instead they use hundreds of muscles to move and grip their surroundings!” Phineas
marveled at Monty as the Wilderness Director allowed him to hang from one wrist by just
holding on with his tail.
As Monty slowly worked his way around the circle of giddy campers pretending to
be tree branches, Phineas’ courage grew. He watched other campers handle Monty
courageously—handling him on their own and even allowing him to smell their faces with
his tongue! Even Jill was so bold as to allow Monty to slide across her tree branches. Now it
was Phineas’ turn. Timidly he raised his wrists and affirmed that he wanted to hold Monty
too. “I will start by just giving you the tail, okay Phineas? Then when you are ready, I’ll give
you the rest of the body. I’ll keep his head close to me.” The Wilderness Director slipped
Monty’s tail over Phineas’ wrist. The expression on his face went from tense nervousness to
squeamishness as Monty’s muscular tail secured its grip on his wrist. A smile soon over
took his face as he chuckled nervously.
“It feels weird!”
“But a cool weird, right?”
Phineas nodded.
“Are you ready to hold the rest of him?” The Wilderness Director gently looped the
four and a half foot snake over Phineas’ second wrist.
“He’s heavy!” Phineas exclaimed.
“He’s all muscle!” acknowledged the Wilderness Director. “Are you ready to hold
him by yourself?” Courageously Phineas nodded his head. Slowly, the Wilderness Director
released the neck and took a step back, “You’re holding a snake, Phineas! Can you believe
it?” He shook his head while biting his bottom lip with a grin. The Wilderness Director
proceeded to bring Monty around to the other campers and Phineas joined in their inquires
about Monty and other snakes.
At the end of the class, the boy who came into the Nature Center terrified of all
serpents walked away proclaiming that snakes were now his favorite animals.
This is just one brief anecdote of a weekly reality of what happened in the Nature
Center during this year’s Summer Camp. Whether a camper came in with a fear of snakes,
insects or even birds, they traded them at the door for a consuming sense of wonder for the
creatures God has created. It was an honor and a blessing to facilitate these transformative
experiences in the lives of the campers who came to Black Rock this year. The above story
is a true story, and while I could not read the camper’s thoughts, their expressions and
body language did not lie. It was fascinating to see the transformation before my very eyes
as I watched the wonder consume the fear on their faces.
~Erich Brady Koenig, Wilderness Director, Summer Camp 2015