Jill Duggar, husband Derick Dillard, and their son, Israel, have been living in Central America performing Bible-based missionary work for the past several years. While they are always alluding to the danger that people living there face, they never actually confront the problems in El Salvador head on. But now, things have become so scary that Jill Duggar is speaking out after her friend was kidnapped and brutally murdered.
In a blog post on the family’s website, Jill Duggar wrote the following.
“We received a phone call on Monday from a friend here in Central America informing us that one of our other good friends (a fellow Christian) had been murdered the day before and that his family had found his body down by the river earlier that morning!
“As you’ll recall from our last email, we talked about these friends of ours who we’d had the opportunity to invite into the hospitality house for a meal recently as they have been going through a really tough time after the death of his grandmother and murder of his 20 year old cousin and then the stroke his daughter had when she received the news. Now they have been spending most of the time in their home for fear of being kidnapped or killed as violence has escalated in their area.
“Even though we had spoke with our friend and his family about the realities of the dangers here, and especially in their area right now, we were shocked when we learned of his kidnap and murder. We’ve had them into our home three times in the past couple weeks!
“We will only be here a little while longer, before we return to the States to prepare for the birth of our second little one, so please also continue to pray for God’s strength and grace to carry on with responsibilities and make the most of the short time left here before our return.”
According to the blog post, Jill Duggar and her husband Derick had recently had the couple over for an all-American lunch, which included hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and all of the fixings. They stated that the man who tragically lost his life had loved to eat and they were more than happy to provide for him.
Derick Dillard attended the man’s funeral, which Jill Duggar reported could sometimes last several hours into the night in El Salvador. Jill, however, stayed home with their young son as Derick mourned the passing of their friend.
Jill Duggar is often seen on Counting On speaking about the dangers of living in Central America, but it seems they finally caught up to her. Previously, she has always been very evasive about what the pair might face in the country, but now viewers and friends sadly have a much clearer picture of the issues being faced.
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard have been under fire by fans for exposing their young son to this kind of danger. They have also been blasted for Jill staying in El Salvador while the Zika virus was rampant, which can lead to serious birth defects, including microcephaly.
The pair, however, are ready to draw their mission to a close, as Jill will be giving birth to her second child in the United States and is quickly approaching her third trimester.
The family has also been on social media asking for donations to help support them on their mission trip. Although Jill and Derick presumably make an income from Counting On and the book Jill Duggar authored with her sister, the Hollywood Gossip reports that they may not have enough to purchase their flight home in time for Jill to give birth to her second child in the United States as planned. This would definitely leave them in a tight spot, as clearly Jill Duggar is not excited about the possibility of giving birth in El Salvador.
[Featured Image by Jill Duggar Dillard/Instagram ]