Jill Duggar Dillard has been in the center of her brother Josh’s Duggar’s sexual molestation scandal since word hit the media of his actions as a teenager. In fact, Jill Duggar is admittedly one of her brother’s victims.
The sexual molestation scandal caused TLC to pull its episodes of 19 Kids and Counting off the air–at least for now. They still haven’t made a decision as to whether they’ll cancel the Duggar family’s reality show or maybe even go for a spinoff instead. The spinoff under consideration would star Jill Duggar, her husband Derick Dillard, Jessa Duggar, and her husband Ben Seewald. 2 Brides and Their Grooms would eliminate Josh Duggar from the reality show all together.
But what will happen to the notion of that spinoff in light of Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s sudden announcement? The Dillards, along with baby Israel, are headed overseas–and not for just a visit, either. They are moving overseas to do missions work for an undisclosed amount of time.
Jill and Derick shared news of their upcoming move via their personal blog on Friday.
Jill (Duggar) Dillard and husband Derick announce they are going on a mission http://t.co/I3A8ttaJsT pic.twitter.com/voJGguGdDw
— People magazine (@people) June 27, 2015
“Since we first began our relationship, it has always been our goal that Jesus Christ might be glorified as we serve others through family ministry, by whatever means that might be. We have a deep love and care for all of the world and a real passion for those in the nations, as many have even seen in the early stages of our relationship, and our hope is that all peoples of the world would come to repentance and put their hope in the Lord, Jesus Christ.
God has put a desire in our hearts to serve Him internationally for longer than the typical short-term mission trip, but we didn’t know yet how God would fulfill that desire in us. We were prepared for the possibility of it being years before our family would be able to make a move of that magnitude. It’s something we’ve prayed about together in an effort to seek God’s plan for our lives in His service. Earlier this year God brought about an opportunity much earlier than either of us was expecting. Several months ago a new opportunity arose for us to serve God on the mission field. Before us we had a choice to make that would undoubtedly change the trajectory of our lives forever.
As I’m sure many of you fathers can understand, I (Derick) had a huge dilemma as the provider and protector of my little family. There were definitely more “unknowns” with the international option. God was definitely testing my faith in Him by bringing about this choice in our lives. A friend of ours wisely shared that if God was leading us to serve Him abroad, we should pursue it as early as possible, to avoid a more difficult move later, when our roots are deep and we’re more comfortable in life. Ultimately, in life there is nothing more important than simply loving, following and obeying our Creator.
After much prayer and seeking Godly counsel, we realized that taking this opportunity and moving overseas in order to serve is the best option for our family. Earlier this year we shared our plans with our families and in May, I shared this decision with my manager at Wal-Mart, where I was working in the Tax department. I recently left the company and we are currently preparing to leave the US and begin our new endeavor in July. We don’t expect this new adventure to always be easy, but God never promised that following Him wouldn’t have its challenges. We are confident in knowing that there is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will for our lives. We look forward to this adventure and the joy of serving Him in this new way. We wanted to share this with you and ask for your prayers as our family makes this transition.
If you feel led to support our mission effort we would be so thankful to have you as a partner. You can give here on our website. Your prayers and your support mean so much to both of us as we begin this great new chapter in life!”
Away they go! Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard are leaving home for missionary work next month: http://t.co/BAA8TZyfJZ
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) June 27, 2015
The blog post goes on to share a link for those who care to help finance Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s move overseas.
Does this move come at a time when Jill Duggar might be yearning for escape? She was the more visibly upset of the two Duggar sisters–Jill and Jessa Duggar–who went on TV for an interview regarding their brother’s molestation scandal.
How do you suppose the rest of the Duggar family feels about Jill and Derick leaving?
Surely more will evolve about Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard’s impending missions trip as their details become finalized.
Do you expect if TLC continues with a Duggar family show–either 19 Kids and Counting or 2 Brides and Their Grooms–that they will send a film crew along with Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard to highlight their missionary work overseas?
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