More than six months after going into their mission trip in Central America, Jill-Duggar Dillard, husband Derick and baby Israel finally had several Duggars as their special surprise guests.
Jill’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, paid a visit to the Dillards in El Salvador, which Derick wrote as an awesome “impromptu visit” on the family’s blog.
"It was great to have them with us and get to show them the work the Lord is doing here," he wrote, adding, "Israel definitely enjoyed all the attention when Grandma and Grandpa Duggar came to visit."
In his post, Derick also wrote an update about the family's experience in mission work with the church, such as his weekly preaching in a nearby village, as well as how the Dillard family is coping with wildlife that they find uncommon.
"We weren’t used to seeing scorpions, tarantulas and cougars back home but we’ve seen them all and the first two multiple times!" Derick wrote. "Jill opened her makeup bag to find a tarantula on top of her toothbrush."
While baby Israel’s father wrote that their family had been "stretched" recently by unspecified difficulties, they remained intact and hopeful.
"We have been stretched in ways that we could not have imagined in recent days, of which I will not go into the details on at this time," Derick wrote, "but we have confidence and trust in the Lord’s faithfulness in that which He has called us."
"Our hope and prayer is that the existing church would be encouraged, strengthened, and exhorted to persevere in good works in Christ," he added.
Jill took to Instagram to share her own update, captioning a photo of the couple with their son, "Thank y'all for praying for us."
However, despite the good news for the Dillards, a number of Duggar fans have been quite expressive in discussing Jim Bob and Michelle’s decision to visit Central America while most of their children are left in Arkansas. The family has often been shown having the eldest girls taking charge these days, including Jana, Jinger and Joy Anna.
Jana Duggar has already been previously shown in an episode of ’19 Kids and Counting’ wherein she was handling the household when Josie experienced a seizure.
In addition, it remains unconfirmed whether the Duggars are returning to TV with a new family show, although ’19 Kids and Counting’ is seemingly being revived after months of having TLC cameras being spotted in the clan’s hometown in Arkansas.
Recently, camera crew members were seen and photographed as they followed Joy-Anna while she spent time shopping for party supplies with her friend, Sierra Jo Dominguez.
"A camera crew was with them when they arrived in the parking lot, and another cameraman was waiting for them inside the supermarket," an eyewitness told In Touch. "The film crew included one of the people who used to film for '19 Kids and Counting.'"
Following the cancellation of the family’s hit series on TLC because of the discovery of eldest son Josh Duggar having molested four of his sisters, the network aired a three-episode special titled ‘Jill & Jessa: Counting On,’ which brought the spotlight on Jill and Jessa Duggar’s journey to marriage and motherhood.
