Jill Dillard Puts Her Midwifery Skills To Work In Central America, Details Mission Progress
It seems that Jill and Derick Dillard are attempting to put their ministry’s financial supporters’ worries at rest by detailing some of the things they have accomplished since returning to Central America. The Duggar daughter recently received certification as a “certified professional midwife” and appears to be putting her skills to use as part of her missionary work. The Dillard family updated fans with a “mission update” on their blog, which notes that they are spending most of their time in Spanish language classes, but also claim to have worked with local orphanages and a birth center since returning to the region.
The Dillard Family Blog posted a “mission update” to their blog yesterday that detailed some of the things the family has accomplished since returning to Central America. The pair promised that it will be “a while” before they return to the states and seem to be focusing heavily on their “mission work,” or as some naysayers believe, content for their upcoming Jill and Jessa: Counting On television specials, which will be aired on TLC.
In the update, Derick and Jill Dillard note that they have been spending 20 hours a week attending Spanish language classes in one-on-one tutoring sessions. They say that in addition to the language courses, the pair are attending a “bible-believing” local church for fellowship. Though they are spending most of their time attempting to learn the language of the locals, the Dillards claim they also have spent some time at local birth centers and an orphanage.
“This past week, we were blessed to serve in a birth center, an orphanage, and visit in the home of a local Mayan family.”
Though the Duggar daughter didn’t go into great detail about exactly how the pair “served” in the birth center or orphanage, Jill recently received her certification as a “certified professional midwife” and is likely putting some of her skills to use in the community. Though her certification is designed for home birth settings within the United States, it was also pointed out that many Central American countries do not have qualification requirements for midwives. Therefore, with her basic training, Jill would be able to assist births in many of the Central American countries.
In addition to discussing their visits to the birth center and orphanage, the Dillards also pointed out that Derick’s mother, Cathy, is staying with them for a short period of time to help them “transition” back into life in Central America once more.
“Israel has loved spending time with his grandma Cathy, as she was able to travel down with us to spend a week as we’re transitioning back.”
This isn’t the first time the Dillards have brought along family members to take care of Israel as they attended Spanish classes in Central America. Joy-Anna previously flew back to Central America with Jill in order to help care for baby Israel as Jill worked on her Spanish lessons.
At the end of the “mission update,” the Dillards request prayers for Central America. They specifically ask people to pray for the political instability and violence to end in the country.
What do you think about the Dillard family mission update? Does the new update provided by the Duggar daughter prove that Dillard Family Ministries is planning to provide services beyond proselytizing the region?
[Image via Instagram]
