Jessa Seewald Gets New Baby Cheers From Jill Duggar & Derick Dillard, Who Defend Mission Trip Controversy [Photos]

Jessa Duggar Seewald, star of the recently cancelled 19 Kids And Counting, can always count on Duggar family support. So when her sister, Jill Duggar Dillard, got the exciting news that Jessa had just welcomed a new baby boy, Jill and her husband Derick Dillard immediately headed to social media to cheer on the proud new mom, reported People.

Derick proclaimed the 23-year-old and her husband, Ben Seewald, 20, to be terrific parents on the same day that the Seewalds’ new son was born.

“Congrats to Jessa and Ben on the birth of their baby boy!” proclaimed Jill’s 26-year-old husband. “@ben_seewald @jessaseewald y’all are great parents already! May you raise this little guy in the love and admonition of our Lord. #congrats #newparents #newnephew #prouduncle.”

Jill followed up on Dillard’s cheers. The 24-year-old Duggar sister has a son herself, named Israel, who is 7-months-old.

“Yay! So excited for @jessaseewald and @ben_seewald,” congratulated Jill.

The Seewalds posted a baby picture album on their website, The Seewald Family. However, they specifically requested that permission be granted before the photos are re-published, although some media have already rushed to re-post the entire album. You can see all their photos here.

Although the baby’s name has not yet been released (which caused some fans to question whether it was an attempt at getting more publicity in a separate announcement), it is known that the new addition to the Duggar family weighs nine pounds, 11 ounces and is 21 1/4 inches long.

As the Inquisitr reported, prior to the baby’s birth, the pregnant 23-year-old confessed she was worried about having a big baby. She also was aware that Jill struggled for two agonizing days to have her own first baby with a home delivery before she had an emergency C-section at a hospital.

Now, however, even as Jill congratulates her sister on the new baby, Dillard is immersed on another mission trip with Derick and their own son, Israel. And that mission trip is causing controversy, reported Fashion & Style.

Fans had expressed concern that they donated money for a mission and that Jill and Derick were abusing their generosity. But the Dillard family insisted that they are using the money wisely, via a blog.

“God has called us to Central America to preach the good news of the kingdom of God,” stated Derick. “My desire is to preach good news to the poor and to proclaim liberty to the captives. I have the greatest treasure in Christ, and I want others to know that hope as well.”

In addition to the defense offered by Dillard, Jill revealed that the couple had helped gang members and seen “some come to freedom in Christ.” Duggar believes that having such individuals there helps get her message across and that of Derick’s.

“Because of the violence and fear in some areas we were in, people face the frequent reality of eternity and are more open to the gospel because of it,” theorized Jill.

But what many former fans have questioned is whether the Dillard couple used the funds donated for mission trips to afford all those vacations to Arkansas for events such as family weddings. Even more controversy erupted when the news broke that neither Dillard is a certified missionary, and therefore received no funds from Arkansas’ Christ Church, which is their home church.

However, Jill and Dillard recently shared that they plan to stay on their mission trip until next year. The upcoming 19 Kids And Counting spin-off, Counting On, will feature one sister’s experiences as a new mom along with her husband Ben, as well as Jill’s journey with Derick on her mission work. The first episode of Counting On will air this year.

And, as the Inquisitr reported, the decision by TLC to feature a new show about the 19 Kids And Counting clan has resulted in considerable controversy over whether the family should be featured following both the scandals in which Josh Duggar was involved as well as what some termed the “hypocrisy” of the Duggars in condemning the LGBT community while hiding their own dark family secret for so long.

[Image via TLC]