Duggar Family Takes Jill To Board Plane To Guatemala With Derick And Baby

The Duggar family is photographed at the airport as Jill Duggar, husband Derick Dillard, and their baby Israel David catch a flight to Guatemala. Jill and Derick were pictured with Duggar family parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, 10 of Jill’s 18 siblings, and Jill’s brother-in-law, Ben Seewald. Also in the photo is Jill’s mother-in-law Cathy Byrum, who boarded the plane with the couple and her infant grandson.

Jill Duggar and her husband posted several pictures on their blog of the Duggar family accompanying them to the airport. The couple also posted a statement saying that they did not plan to return to Arkansas anytime soon.

“It will be many months before we are able to make a short visit back to the States again.”

Fans of the Duggar family were shocked to learn of Jill’s weekend departure because her sister Jessa is expecting the birth of her first child on November 1. Many were expecting Jill to assist Jessa as a midwife during the birth, which could happen any day now.

The sisters have been working together in Arkansas while filming a three-part special for the TLC network, Jill & Jessa: Counting On. In a preview of the special released yesterday, Jill is shown monitoring the heartbeat of Jessa’s baby – a skill she learned while studying midwifery. Few could imagine that Jill would leave the country before Jessa’s child was born.

The first show in the TLC special will feature the birth and is scheduled to air in December. Jill made no statement on her blog about why she chose to leave now instead of waiting for Jessa’s baby. The statement she made doesn’t indicate any urgency that necessitated a departure at this time.

“In the weeks ahead language school will become much more intense as we work to become fluent in Spanish.”

It does seem that Jill and Derick could study Spanish in Arkansas. The Duggar family’s canceled reality TV show, 19 Kids and Counting, often featured the kids studying Spanish with a local teacher, neighbor and friend Analucia Jackson.

This is just one of many things that Jill and Derick have not explained concerning their work with the non-profit ministry the couple registered in June. Like so many times before, the couple’s most recent blog post doesn’t indicate actually where they are going this time.

“We had a great visit recently to the States and as always it was a little hard to say goodbye! We are headed back to Central America.”

Ten days ago, the Inquisitr reported on a rumor that the couple was headed to Guatemala. That rumor was confirmed when a photograph of Jill, Derick and the baby was posted on a Facebook group, which showed the three in Atlanta, boarding a connecting flight for Guatemala.

The lack of transparency and the failure to disclose a mission statement for their non-profit, Dillard Family Ministries, led many donors to request a refund of their donations. In the four months since Jill and Derick began collecting donations, they have never stated how the funds will be used or even in what country they plan to minister. Leaving Arkansas so close to the birth of Jessa’s baby, is just another mystery in Jill and Derick’s behavior.

The Duggar Family Blog confirmed that Jill and Derick had departed, and posted a picture of them seated on the airplane.

“After spending several weeks in the United States, Jill and Derick Dillard are back in Central America, where they serve as missionaries. Derick’s mom, Cathy Dillard Byrum, returned with them. Jill and Derick will resume intensive language classes, with the goal of becoming fluent in Spanish.”

Only time will tell what these Duggar family members will be doing in Guatemala. Their activities in Central America will be featured in part two of the upcoming TLC special.

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[Intro photo: Dillard Family Blog]