Following Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s month-long break, the Christian couple headed back to Guatemala to carry on with their long-term mission work. However, it remains uncertain whether the duo will get back to their tasks as soon as possible.
A source close to the Duggar family claimed that the couple spent some of their time back in the US for a “new mission.”
“They are home for a while before they go back on a new mission,” the insider revealed. “They are doing training and preparation for the next missionary trip. They are looking to do full time missionary work.”
The Dillard couple returned to the US and stayed for almost a month, sharing few details about their future plans when coming back to Central America. As such, it has been speculated that keeping mum about their experiences is necessary in order for fans to look forward to the upcoming TLC specials and find out what they have been up to.
On October 17, an image was shared on the official Instagram page of Freejinger, showing Jill Duggar at the Northwest Arkansas Airport. A TLC cameraman was also spotted, hence the certainty that the network was present to film Jill and Derick’s departure.
TLC’s executive vice president and general manager Nancy Daniels already explained the focus of these upcoming programs.
“What we will be following in these specials is Jessa preparing for her first child," she said in an official statement. "And we'll be watching Jill preparing to make a major move to Central America with her family, which we know is something our audience will be interested in."
Baby Israel’s parents had already thrown a going-away party two weeks ago, and it seemed that they were going to wait in Arkansas until the birth of Jill’s sister Jessa Duggar-Seewald’s child, whose due date is on Nov. 1.
However, if the newly-certified professional midwife prefers to assist in her sister’s childbirth, there will be a need to fly back to Arkansas once more in about two weeks.
Although Jill and Jessa’s parents spoke at the going-away party, which was filmed by TLC, Jim Bob and Michelle reportedly missed the chance of saying goodbye to the Dillard couple in front of the TLC cameras.
As stated by the Fort Rock Family Camp website, the Duggar folks spent the weekend at the Fort Rock Fall Marriage Retreat in Combs, Arkansas to fulfill their duty as speakers at the event.
As such, fans can look forward to not only the return of Jill and Jessa but also of their parents and other family members on their upcoming TV special.
“Thank you to all our prayer and financial support partners who were able to join us last night for an evening of ministry discussion and fellowship!” the family posted on the Duggar Family Official Facebook
page. “Thank you also to our financial partners who were not able to attend last night! We can’t do it without you!”
These “financial support partners” mentioned in the family’s online post are reportedly some of Jill and Derick’s mission trip donors. The duo came up with the Dillard Family Ministries earlier this year as a means of requesting for fans and other willing individuals to offer donations as funding for their mission trip in Central America.
"We are looking forward to reconnecting with everyone with the new specials on TLC—many have asked about our mission work and about the challenges of taking our family to a different country, culture and learning a new language," Derick shared on Instagram. "We appreciate your prayers."
