Israel Dillard looks out at the airport tarmac
Have you had a chance to read the post we shared this afternoon? Jill, Derick, and Israel Dillard are headed back to Central America, with plans to return home for the birth of their second son, due in July.
It's always difficult to say goodbye to family and friends. The Dillards, who have been in Arkansas for six months, are leaving behind Jill's large family, including new nephew Henry Wilberforce Seewald, and Derick's small family--his mom, stepdad, brother Dan Dillard, and sister-in-law Deena Dillard.
Photo courtesy dillardfamily.com
Praying for this sweet family!
ReplyDeleteI'm praying for the Dillard's and the people to whom they minister. Looking forward to posts about their next term of service.
ReplyDeleteLeaving them behind? They'll be gone a few months at best. That's like an extended vacation. Most young adults are able to go off on their own for college, work, or travel without dramatically saying they're "leaving behind" their family.
ReplyDeleteSafe journeys. Your faith will give you the strength you need..
ReplyDeleteI heard Jill say in an episode recently that Derick is always right, it was kind of sad. Why can't Jill feel more respected and self confident?
ReplyDeleteI think the context was her teasing that he was always right with guessing genders
DeleteShe was just referring to Derrick's guessing whether an unborn baby was a boy or girl. You're taking her comment completely out of context.
DeleteMaybe Derick IS always right. Maybe he's just the wiser person of the two.
DeleteIf Jill goes back down there and reacts the same way she did last time, I hope one of them has the maturity to come back and stay back. Your "calling" may be one thing, but what you can actually stand doing may be another. It will drive you crazy if you're forced to do something you don't want to do in a place you don't want to be (Jill...). I don't know why Derick didn't respect that last time. Yes, he brought her back, but here they go again.
DeleteI think it's honorable that she agrees with most of what he says, and is respectful to him. It shows that she married the right guy since they share so many views, and I think it's sweet that she publically said that shot her husband. I hope I agree with my husband's views...
DeleteI hope this is what you guys want to do but PLEASE Be Careful an keep The Lord next to you all. I will miss you all be careful 😇😇😇😇
ReplyDeleteI'm so worried for Jill!! She seemed so unhappy last time, not to mention that she could experience some sort of complication or deliver prematurely before they are able to return to the US. I will not be contributing financially to their trip but I will be praying for Jill because I think her husband has been making some very selfish choices. I hope she's happy.
ReplyDeleteJill is her own person, and is similarly choosing to travel to Central America. Sacrificing the heart of evangelism for creature comforts is what would be selfish, when they are so clearly called to be missionaries. I think Derick sets a great example and is passionate about serving the Lord...his wife, too.
DeleteNot sure why Jill's family is noted as large and Derricks as small. All families are important whether big or small and the bonds made in those families are no different due to size. :-). Jill and Derrick will miss their families and their families will miss them.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of Izzy breaks my heart. They're taking him away from his little cousins (and the rest of his extended family), just as he was getting used to being around them again. Now Jill will have to keep him locked in the house again, because he "sticks out" down there and it's safer at home.
ReplyDeleteOh, please. Kids belong wherever their parents happen to live. He isn't being "taken away" from his family. It isn't a parents' job to create a baby utopia where their children can be surrounded 24x7 with as many family members as possible.
DeleteWait, they left already? I thought they had to raise $24,000 first. So if they could leave right after posting about the need for that amount of money, that makes me think they had it all along and didn't really need it from other people. Then why ask for it, if you can just hop on a plane and jet out whenever you want to?
ReplyDeleteThis is presumptuous and obviously untrue, and was posted just to defame the Dillards. It's best to see the good in people. If they had the liquid funds to go sooner then planned, good for them! The work they do is a blessing.
DeleteIf they HAD the liquid funds, then they didn't NEED the ones they asked for!
DeleteI don't understand why pregnant Jill couldn't just stay with her son in Ark. and Derick could go back to the mission field. That way if something happens with her artery, she can get medical help.
ReplyDeleteMost likely they do not want to be separated that long.
DeleteClearly there is nothing wrong with her artery. Sadly, just a made-up story line. And before I get a lot of nasty comments wrongfully accusing me of wanting something to be wrong with Jill's artery because I said "sadly"; it's sad they are now having fake medical issues just to keep ratings going.
DeleteWhy would Derick abandon his family to go to Central America? Jill shares his heart for mission work, and clearly that is why she married him...
DeleteShe probably married him thinking he'd stick with that accounting job once married and with kids. Plus it was Jim Bob who found Derick, and Jim Bob who arranged things.
DeleteSo sad to see Jill and Israel leave. There are plenty of people the Dillards to help in this country without jeopardizing themselves,especially the children. Appalachia has a need for help from Missionaries.
ReplyDeleteJoan,Marion and Marilyn
I hope this is what Jill wants too. And I agree with the above poster about Izzy being taken from his cousins. He and Spurgeon look so cute together! Pretty soon, they will look and act closer in age. Too bad, they will practically be strangers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Jill and Derrick are only doing this for a TLC storyline. Hopefully, they do not stay long!! Get Izzy back to his family!
Derrick, your mother said she didn't really have a family. Why keep Izzy from her and worry her, by having you and Izzy in such a dangerous place? And, don't you want Izzy to know his big, loving family? And I mean more than by skype! It is not the same.😞
They are walking by faith and working for the Lord. If you want to work for Him sometimes it involves making big sacrifices.
DeleteTheir reward will be great in heaven 👼💗
Israel isn't being "taken" from his cousins...he is lucky to have the opportunity to see them as much as he does! Jill and Derick are free to live their lives however they want, and it's obvious they are called to serve as missionaries right now. I know plenty of missionary kids that grow up with similar hearts for service and feel very blessed by the diversity they encountered in their upbringing. Not only does Izzy have a big, loving, extended family, he has two loving parents and is the son of a BIG God who has incredible plans for his life, which obviously includes growing up on the mission field.
DeletePrayers headed your way...Blessings...hope all goes well😇🕇
ReplyDeleteJill married a missions-minded man who had spent years in Nepal. She probably knew what she was signing up for.
ReplyDeleteHe was an accountant for Wal-Mart when they got married.
DeleteWal-Mart job aside, you don't remember Jill talking about how she loved Derick because he was missions-minded? Derick even talked about serving God together in his proposal. None of this is a surprise for her. The Wal-Mart job was a great way for him to save money during their early marriage/pregnancy.
DeleteDid Derek get any diagnosis about his gaggy problem ... .?
ReplyDelete.....that's all.....just wondering..
Or was it just show filler....
I'm so happy for them! It's obvious that Jill and Derrick are both passionate about the work they do on the mission field, and I'm glad they have the opportunity to go back and continue the work they are called to do. It's so great that Israe will grow up learning about diversity and loving his global neighbors with a big family at home supporting him as well. I love watching the Dillards...it's clear that's Jill and Derick love each other and their son very much, and they set a great public example.
ReplyDeleteI thought Jill had something wrong with an artery in her neck. Now she's off to Central America? They sure left that plot line hanging, didn't they?
ReplyDeleteI think they saw that doctor (family friend) on the show just to get people to pipe down about something being wrong with Derick. But yes, they didn't say another word about the potentially clogged artery.
DeleteI don't understand the rush to go back. We just saw Jill supposedly having this problem with her artery in her neck, needing further ultrasounds, which we have heard nothing more about now suddenly they are rushing back to Central America?! And begging for money as they do it? I belong to a church very active in supporting missionaries and this is not how it is done. While the missionaries are home they are not only resting up, visiting with family and friends; but they are preparing to go back... having bake sales, car washes, visiting churches speaking about what they are doing, ANYTHING they can think of to raise funds...actively participating, not just expecting a handout. I hate for ppl to think the Duggar/Dillard way is the way most christians operate because it isn't.
ReplyDeleteRemember, it's possible we don't see and know everything. They may have done everything you said, bake sales, speaking, etc.
DeleteAlso, it is critically important that missionaries rest up when they're in the states. They cannot run themselves ragged trying to look worthy of support and then return to their mission drained and needing a break. I know Jill was taking a bible class at a college and Derick was doing some kind of job while they were here, I was actually concerned for them. I hope they rested.
You don't "rest up" when you're home, you work to raise money for your next trip! That's how other missionaries do it.
DeleteAll I can say is it's reckless to be pregnant going there, the Zika virus too.. Think of your new baby
ReplyDeleteThese comments are hideous!
ReplyDeleteJill and Derick have repeatedly said this was their hearts desire to minister there, even with the sacrifice it requires from them. We need to respect what they've said. Just because something is difficult and painful, doesn't mean it's not worth doing! And doesn't mean there isn't joy! They feel called by God to serve the people they're returning to and their focus is on pleasing their Maker. I'm sure it was hard to leave Arkansas, but good for them!
Also, Izzy was happy in Central America! He had community around him that loved him. To stay in the states so the child could have cousins? That sounds so small minded to me. They are giving Izzy an incredible gift by being parents that trust God above what our society would deem "safe" or "smart".
I was a missionary overseas for 4 years with my young daughter. I felt called by God to do the work I was doing and I can testify there is a special and supernatural Grace when you're in the center of the Lords will for you. That doesn't mean it's always fun or easy, it just means you have what you need (physically, spiritually, mentally) and its worth it. I remember being shocked with my daughter when she was a baby and toddler, she honestly was happier when she was traveling! She loved long car trips, international flights, strangers smiling at her, weird food, new environments. That was grace! She's 8 now and we live in the States and she loves telling her friends at school about all the countries shes lived in.
I'm happy for them and proud of them for being willing to leave their comfortable life and families behind. It'll be hard, but I know some of the most challenging times in life are now some of my favorite memories, may it be for them as well.
Great comment, because you speak with the wisdom of experience.
DeleteSo why are you no longer a missionary overseas? If it was so wonderful and God's calling for you and all that you said?
DeleteFor the same reason I entered full time ministry, because it was where God led me. There are seasons in life and we have to know what season we're in. I was only an oversea missionary for a short season (4 years) but I learned a lot and grew a lot and am grateful for the opportunity I had. Trusting God is always the most joyful path. He might call us to something, but it doesn't mean that that "something" is permanent.
DeleteSorry, but I don't believe it was ever in Jill's heart. She acts terrified, and still broke down months later when talking about a shower curtain rod falling abs scaring them, something most of us would have laughed over afterwards.
ReplyDeleteTruth, not hate: It's offensive to be making multiple thousands of dollars per episode from a reality television show, receive book royalties from what you've co-written and marketed, be living in housing provided by your parents, be "debt-free"...and proceed to ask/expect other people (most with far less money and familial support)to donate money to fund your mission. We've been married 25 years (debt-free for a large portion of that and with an Emergency Fund in the Bank), are parents ourselves. We lived with our parents for 6 months (as newlyweds, due to a sudden downsizing job loss situation-no fault of ours, no warning). We buy used whenever possible and drive 14 yr old cars. We're not rich, but grateful for everything we have. We would never expect anyone to pay our way, much less if we could pay it ourselves. We support well-known and accountable ministries like Samaritan's Purse and international disaster relief, as well as several local Food Banks, local emergency relief, local needy families, and a local children's ministry.
ReplyDeleteIf it's so dangerous there, as they have claimed, then why do they venture out with a film crew following them? That kinda sorta makes you stand out, and a target. I hope this time, they keep the cameras off and concentrate on their "work." Time spent talking to the camera is time they could be spending working on what they went there to do in the first place. We don't need to see any more of what they're doing (or not doing). We've seen enough.
ReplyDeleteI wish Derick and Jill and little Iseral the best. I pray they are careful. That Jill's does well with the baby. I'm glad Derick cut his hair. He looks so much better. I pray for the whole family.
ReplyDeleteI like Derrick's hair short with a well trimmed beard. Best wishes and stay safe in Central America.
ReplyDeleteso many comments......it is their life ..make memories for yourself and others..and come back safe and sound...
ReplyDeleteLord Jesus, encamp your holy angels around this sweet family to keep them safe. I pray many will come to know You as Lord and Savior because of Derick and Jill's faithfulness to You. Amen.
ReplyDelete