Jill Duggar And Derick Dillard Still Haven’t Returned To Mission Field Two Weeks After Farewell Party

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard decided to take a month-long break from their mission trip in Central America, and now that they’re back home, they don’t seem to be in any rush to return to the mission field.

On October 3, photos from Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s farewell party were shared on the Duggar Family Official Facebook page. In a short message that accompanied the pictures, Jill and Derick thanked the “prayer and financial support partners” who attended the potluck event to bid bon voyage to the couple. Most fans of the Duggars likely assumed that Jill and Derick would return to Central America a day or two after their party. However, it’s now almost two weeks later, and they still haven’t gone anywhere.

In a September 10 blog post, Derick let his fans and mission trip donors know that he and Jill Duggar were back in the States and spending some quality time with their families. Derick also revealed that Jill had to head back home to take her midwifery test, and now she’s a certified professional midwife (CPM). However, in the About section of the Dillard Family website, Jill reveals that she had no reason to rush to obtain her CPM license — she doesn’t plan on using her midwifery skills while Israel is a baby.

“Although I don’t plan on practicing while I have little ones of my own at home, I know the skills I have already learned have benefitted (sic) me immensely and I may be able to use them in other ways, such as teaching, down the road,” Jill Duggar writes.

While Jill did spend a little of her time away from Central America taking a test to obtain a license that she won’t use for years, it looks like she and her husband have been spending most of their time hanging out at the Duggar compound. On October 12, Jill Duggar shared a few Instagram photos of her son, Israel, being held by his young aunts and uncles.

On October 15, the Duggars shared a photo of Derick Dillard sitting in the car with James Duggar. The family is thrilled because the 14-year-old just obtained his learner’s permit, and it looks like Derick is helping the Duggars out by accompanying James while he makes use of it.

“James passed his written test and now has his driving permit!” the Duggars wrote beneath the photo below. “In Arkansas you can get your permit at age 14 and practice driving with a licensed adult for 2 years before you hit the road by yourself. James is very conscientious and will make a good driver! Buckle up!”

So why did Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard throw themselves a farewell party if they were planning on sticking around so long afterward? And why haven’t they returned to Central America yet?

As you can see in the photo above, a TLC cameraman was filming the farewell party (he’s on the far right side of the picture). Last month, the Associated Press reported that Jill and her younger sister, Jessa Duggar, are starring in two or more upcoming TV specials. The first of the specials is set to air before the end of the year, so it’s possible that TLC actually asked Jill and her family to hold the farewell party so early. This way the network would have footage to use for the special that will be centered on Jill and Derick’s mission trip. Because it’s taking so long for Jill and Derick to get back to the mission field, it’s starting to look like their first TLC special won’t feature any footage from Central America.

Jill and Derick also have a reason for sticking around in Arkansas a few weeks longer than they planned. Jessa Duggar’s TLC special will focus on her pregnancy, and she’s set to give birth on November 1. Now that Jill is a certified professional midwife, she can help Jessa with her birth. Her sisterly assistance would make Jessa’s special must-see TV for fans of the Duggar family, and her presence could potentially boost the birth special’s ratings.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard have been criticized for not taking their mission trip seriously enough and wasting their donors’ money on flying back and forth between Arkansas and Central America. Some donors are so upset with the couple that they’ve started asking for their money back. However, on the Dillard Family website, Jill insists that she’s very serious about helping impoverished people by spreading the gospel, and she seemingly believes that many people in Central America are poor simply because they haven’t found Jesus.

“I went on my first short term missions trip to El Salvador as a teenager with some of my siblings and dad. My heart was immediately captured as I saw the poverty and hopelessness a lot of people there were experiencing because their hope lay only in this world, not in a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Do you think Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard will stay in the States until Jessa gives birth?

[Featured image credit: Jill Duggar Dillard/Instagram]