Jill Duggar And Derick Dillard Head Back To Guatemala, Michelle And Jim Bob Attend Marriage Retreat
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s month-long break is over, and they’ve headed back to Guatemala to continue their long-term mission trip. However, they aren’t going to get right back to work right away.
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard have been back in the States for almost a month, and they’ve shared very little details about what they’re going to be doing when they return to Central America. They didn’t give their fans a mission update before they left for Guatemala, and it’s possible that they’re being so secretive because they want their fans to watch their upcoming TLC special to see what they’ve been up to.
On October 17, a photo was posted on the Freejinger Instagram page that shows Jill Duggar and James Duggar at the Northwest Arkansas Airport. A TLC cameraman can also be seen in the picture, so it looks like the network was there to film Jill and Derick’s departure. Commenters on the Contacting Sponsors #Nomoreduggars Facebook page also reported that the couple was spotted at the airport in Atlanta, so they likely took a Delta flight that flew from Arkansas to Atlanta, then on to Guatemala City.
Jill Duggar and her husband threw a going-away party for themselves two weeks ago, and it was starting to look like they were going to stick around in Arkansas until the birth of Jessa Duggar’s child (Jessa’s due date is November 1). However, if newly-certified professional midwife Jill wants to assist her sister, she’ll have to fly back to Arkansas yet again in about two weeks.
Jill Duggar’s parents spoke at the going-away party, which was filmed by TLC. However, this time, Jim Bob and Michelle seemingly missed out on the chance to tell Jill and Derick goodbye in front of the TLC cameras. According to the Fort Rock Family Camp website, Jim Bob and Michelle spent the weekend at the Fort Rock Fall Marriage Retreat in Combs, Arkansas. They were speakers at the event.
In a September 10 blog post on the Dillard Family website, Derick revealed that he and Jill were going to spend a month back home visiting with family and taking “care of some things” before heading back to Central America. A source close to the Duggars revealed that the couple spent some of their time back home training for a “new mission.”
“They are home for a while before they go back on a new mission,” the source revealed. “They are doing training and preparation for the next missionary trip. They are looking to do full time missionary work.”
When Jill and her husband arrive in Guatemala, they won’t resume their mission work right away — Derick revealed that they’re going to head back to language school to continue their Spanish lessons. Beyond this tidbit of information, he and Jill have shared very few specific details about what they plan to do in Central America. They haven’t let their fans know whether Guatemala is where they’re going to reside after they complete their language classes, and they haven’t revealed how long their mission trip will actually be. They’ve also said very little about what kind of work they’ll be doing, so their donors don’t know if the couple will spend most of their time evangelizing or whether their mission work will include helping local communities in various ways.
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s lack of transparency and their confusing claims about their mission trip could be hurting their cause by scaring away potential donors. In his September 10 blog post, Derick claimed that he and Jill Duggar “were commissioned to the mission field” by Cross Church. However, he went to say that the “commissioning” consisted of nothing more than a prayer in front of the congregation. In other words, the church wasn’t providing any funding for their trip, so he and Jill need all the financial help they can get.
Jill and Derick have said nothing about doing all the work it takes to meet the extensive list of requirements for full-time missionaries, and some of the couple’s critics think that they rushed into the mission field without being fully prepared for their new life. According to Entertainment Tonight, they’ve been criticized for making multiple trips back home to visit family members and for taking Spanish classes in another country instead of completing them before leaving on their trip. Jill and Derick also haven’t revealed whether their donors’ money was used to pay for their trips back home or their language classes in Guatemala.
It’s possible that Derick and Jill will share more details about their mission trip during their upcoming TLC special. According to the Associated Press, it might air before the end of the year. However, fans probably won’t get to see any footage of Jill and her family in Central America. Nancy Daniels, TLC’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, revealed that the TV special will show “Jill preparing to make a major move to Central America with her family.” Notice how she only mentioned Jill’s preparations for the move, not Jill’s time working in the mission field.
Do you think Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard need to be more forthcoming with details about their mission work?
[Featured image credit: Jill Duggar Dillard / Instagram]
