Shell, Ecuador
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Shell (also Shell Mera) is a city located on the western edge of the
Shell Oil base
Shell Mera was established in 1937 as a
Missionary base
Sometime around 1949, Shell was reoccupied by
In 1954 Saint, a former member of the
World-wide attention focused on Shell in January 1956 at the news of the disappearance of Saint and four other missionaries –
Two years later, in 1958, the Hospital Vozandes Del Oriente opened its doors as the first hospital in that region of Ecuador. The hospital was the dream of Nate Saint, who donated both land and time to work on its construction before his death in 1956. It served an estimated 65,000 people who lived on the eastern side of the Andes and in the jungle. In 1985 a new Hospital Vozandes was opened on the other side of the Motolo River, and the old hospital was converted to a guest house, lasting until 2007 when weather and termites forced it to be torn down. The new Hospital Vozandes Del Oriente was closed at the end of 2013, after 55 years of service in Pastaza.
In August 1964, Nate Saint Memorial School opened in Shell for missionary children. The school was founded by Charlotte Dillon Swanson wife of Wallace Swanson, a missionary physician at the HCJB Hospital Voz Andes. She began by teaching her own children at home in 1962 and later expanded the school to include other missionary children. After she raised money for a building she named the school in memory of Nate Saint.[3]
Today
Today, Shell is a town of around 10,000 people, with many business enterprises, schools, churches, hotels and restaurants, and a hospital. There is also a large military base (El Fuerte Militar Amazonas), which serves as headquarters for the 17th Jungle Brigade, as well as EWIAS (Escuela de Iwias Crnl. Gonzalo Barragán) jungle warfare school.[4]
The airstrip remains operational and continues to serve the region as the
References
- ^ "Ecuador". About Us. The Hague, The Netherlands: Royal Dutch Shell. 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ a b "About Shell, Ecuador". Fundacíon Casa de Fe. Brookhaven, Mississippi: Hope Extended. 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Colby, Gerard and Dennett, Charlotte. Thy Will be Done: the Conquest of the Amazon, Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil. New York: Harper Collins p. 251
- ^ "Escuela de Iwias CRNL. Gonzalo Barragán (EIWIAS) | Shell Mera, Ecuador – Military School Directory".
General sources
- Elliot, Elisabeth, Through Gates of Splendor.
- Elliot, Philip James, Papers (archives), Billy Graham Center, Collection 277.
- Hoffman, David (May 27, 2003), Shell-Mera, The Hoffman family.
- Maxwell, Judy (1997), The Waorani New Testament Dedication Service, OSLC-GB.
- Wishall, Garrett E. Experiencing the culture firsthand (Feb. 23, 2006)
- Time Magazine article(Mar. 31, 1947)
- Rachel Saint History, The Akha Heritage Foundation, Feb 2006.
- Nate Saint Memorial School, HCJB.
External links
- Rio Amazonas Airport, Private Jet Specialist.
- Aerial Pictures of Shell Mera, The Hoffman family.
- Hospital Vozandes in Shell, HCJB.