Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard Return To U.S. With Baby Israel For ‘Bringing Up Bates’ Wedding

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard may be enjoying their mission work in El Salvador, but the former “19 Kids and Counting” stars returned to the U.S. for a special event on Saturday – the wedding of Michaella Bates and Brandon Keilen!

For those unfamiliar with Michaella and Brandon, the two are featured on UPtv’s “Bringing Up Bates.” Similar to TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” the show follows Tennessee natives Gil and Kelly Bates and their 19 children. The Bates’ have made special appearances on the Duggar’s show before landing their own reality series earlier this year on UPtv.

The Bates and Duggar families are so close that Jill and Derick decided to take a break from their work in El Salvador to attend the nuptials in Tennessee. But of course Jill and Derick weren’t the only members of the Duggar family to spend the day with the happy couple. People reports that the eldest Duggar daughter, Jana, served as a bridesmaid in the wedding. Instagram photos from the day also show Joy-Ana and Jessa celebrating with friends.

The weekend wasn’t just about wedding festivities for the Dillard’s. Jill also used the time to catch up with family and allow son Israel David to bond with his grandma. On Saturday she shared a sweet photo on Instagram of her nearly five-month old baby boy with mom Michelle.

“Excited to be back with family for the weekend!” she captioned the photo. “#IsraelLovesGrandma.”

But unfortunately the reunion was short lived. Jill and Derick are traveling with Israel again … this time to New York City! Derick posted a photo of his wife and son goofing around in the Hershey’s store in Times Square.

“I think Israel wants some chocolate milk!” he wrote.

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard announced in June that they would be leaving for for El Salvador in July to focus on missionary work. Although “19 Kids and Counting” was canceled by TLC following the Josh Duggar controversy, the two have been keeping fans updated on their trip through social media.

Jill can next be seen on TV in TLC’s child sex abuse documentary, which will air commercial-free on the network on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 10 p.m. EDT.