EXCLUSIVE: Inside Jill Duggar's life as a missionary in EL SALVADOR - along with husband Derick and baby Israel she is living under armed guard in a remote jungle region plagued by gang violence, drugs and lawlessness
- The second-eldest Duggar daughter has found herself and her family on the front line in Central America's deadly drug gang wars
- Daily Mail Online visited the region and found evidence of the shocking gang culture
- Military guards patrol the entrance to the mission with semi-automatic rifles and accompany the groups in buses when they venture out
- The nearest town selling diapers and baby food three miles away was the scene of six bloody slayings over three days in June
- Against the backdrop of mayhem and bloodshed, the ex-19 Kids and Counting star began a 'long-term' mission
- Jill and Derick are preaching the Bible and teaching English to poverty-stricken youngsters - and son Israel is the talk of the town
Jill Duggar has escaped the media storm surrounding her brother's sexual abuse scandal and the cancelling of her family's TV show - only to find herself on the front line of Central America's deadliest gang war.
Jill, 24, and husband Derick Dillard, 26, have been posting on their blog since heading to El Salvador last month to become missionaries, describing how the local population was making a fuss of their three-month-old son Israel.
However despite their upbeat message, Daily Mail Online can reveal the young family are living under armed guard in a remote jungle region plagued by gang violence, drugs and lawlessness.
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Smiling faces: Jill, 24, and her mustachioed husband Derick Dillard, 26, have been posting on their blog since heading to El Salvador last month to become missionaries. They have described how the local population was making a fuss of their now four-month-old son Israel. But Daily Mail Online visited the region and found evidence of the shocking and dangerous gang culture
The baby Israel: Local children being taught at the mission surround the Dillard baby. 'Everywhere we go, people here about and want to see and hold the, 'big blue-eyed, white baby' LOL,' Derick posted on their blog
Mission: Jill has not revealed their precise location of the mission, but Daily Mail Online can disclose it is a tiny Christian retreat named La Esperanza - The Hope - deep in the country's troubled La Paz region
The nearest town selling diapers and baby food was the scene of six bloody slayings over the space of three days in June - and even taxi drivers and tour guides refuse to go there.
The violence is grimly typical of El Salvador where the spiraling murder rate now rivals that of war-torn Iraq - with nearly 700 killings recorded nationwide last month.
Much of the gang activity has spilled from the capital, San Salvador, to the impoverished countryside, where warring 'maras' fight for control of the narcotics trade with grenades and machine guns.
It is against this backdrop of mayhem and bloodshed that 19 Kids and Counting star Jill has begun a 'long-term' mission preaching the Bible and teaching English to poverty-stricken youngsters.
She and her husband have not revealed their precise location but we can disclose it is a tiny Christian retreat named La Esperanza - The Hope - deep in the country's troubled La Paz region.
Jill, 24, Derick and their little boy are living in the remote hillside compound with another 20 to 30 evangelical Christians, mainly young Americans, who have volunteered through missionary group SOS Ministries.
Military guards patrol the entrance with semi-automatic rifles and accompany the group in buses and trucks when they venture out to visit churches and orphanages to 'present and share the gospel of Christ'.
Jill,, Derick and Israel are living at the remote hillside compound with another 20 to 30 Evangelical Christians, some young Americans, who have volunteered through missionary group SOS Ministries. The nearest town selling diapers and baby food was the scene of six bloody slayings over the space of three days in June - and even taxi drivers and tour guides refuse to go there
Derick Dillard, in red tee-shirt, at a gathering at La Esperanza Mission. The sign on the wall reads, in part: 'Let us hold fat the profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised'
Derick looks deep in thought as he gathers with other missionaries at La Seperanza
The facilities at La Esperanza are spartan. Beds are mats placed on the floor with pillows and blankets. The complex itself is centered around an L-shaped communal dormitory which serves as a classroom and chapel, decorated with hanging baskets, colorful murals and verses from the New Testament
Jill and Israel join a group sing-song at the mission.
Time out: The Dillards enjoy some recreational time at a local beach.
Baby Israel castaches a wave in his dad's protective arms
Toast of the town: 'Israel seems to be adjusting to the new climate, culture, food (via mom's milk), and language faster than Jill and I are,' Derick wrote on the family's blog
The courtyard of the mission is quiet, but military guards patrol the entrance with semi-automatic rifles and accompany the group in buses and trucks when they venture out to visit churches and orphanages to 'present and share the gospel of Christ'
The complex itself is centered around an L-shaped communal dormitory which serves as a classroom and chapel, decorated with hanging baskets, colorful murals and verses from the New Testament.
Volunteers pay $300-per-week to bed down on mattresses and begin each day by saying their prayers, reciting scripture and breaking bread on picnic tables overlooking palm trees and hillsides swathed with dense vegetation.
Jill, Derick and Israel headed there in secret after posting a July 6 YouTube video saying their goodbyes to dad Jim Bob the rest of the Duggar clan.
The Duggars have collectively visited La Esperanza as recently as last year but not since a truce between the two most feared gangs - Barrio 18 and MS-13 - fell apart in January.
The development triggered a huge surge in violence that saw homicides leap by 55.7 per cent year-on-year, with 2,865 murders so far and counting in 2015.
The country is the smallest in Central America with a population of just six million but the 677 homicides in June rivaled the 799 killed in Islamic State-overrun Iraq.
Daily Mail Online visited the region and found evidence of the shocking gang culture at a municipal cemetery just a few minutes from La Esperanza.
The facility houses dozens of graves and tombs of slain MS members spray-painted with the gang's logo.
Daily Mail Online visited the region and found evidence of the shocking gang culture at a municipal cemetery just a few minutes from La Esperanza.
Dozens of graves and tombs of slain MS members are spray-painted with the gang's logo
A few minutes further is the town of San Pedro Masahuat, where a six-foot high version of the motif on a wall overlooking the town square leaves visitors in no doubt as to who exerts control over its 26,000 inhabitants.
More gang graffiti is seen on the walls of what looks like a shut down store. As recently as June 22 a travel warning issued by the US State Department warned American citizens that crimes including extortion, mugging, highway assault, home invasion, and car theft were becoming commonplace in El Salvador
A few minutes further is the town of San Pedro Masahuat, where a six-foot high version of the motif on a wall overlooking the town square leaves visitors in no doubt as to who exerts control over its 26,000 inhabitants.
Taxi drivers told us they were not prepared to stop there while a local guide only offered to show us around if we arranged a police escort.
Their fears were fueled by six slayings in the space of three days which left a police woman and five gang members dead.
A police convoy came under fire on June 26 and officers responded by chasing three suspects into a cornfield and shooting them dead after a ten minute firefight.
Three days later Ana Deysi Cabreri died in a hail of bullets when gunmen opened fire on a police pickup truck, becoming the 33rd officer and the second female officer to be killed this year in El Salvador.
The Policia Nacional Civil (National Civil Police) responded by killing the two suspects.
'There are no such thing as good and bad places now in El Salvador,' an expert on the gang scene told Daily Mail Online. 'The moment you pull out of the airport you're a potential target.
'The gangs have lookouts everywhere, everyone from kids on bikes to middle aged shopkeepers and women.
'There are no such thing as good and bad places now in El Salvador,' an expert on the gang scene told Daily Mail Online. 'The moment you pull out of the airport you're a potential target.
'The gangs have lookouts everywhere, everyone from kids on bikes to middle-aged shopkeepers and women,' an expert on the gang scene told Daily Mail Online
The family's blog post give no indication of the dangers they face but instead focuses on how locals have made a fuss of Israel, who was born April 6
'You can let them see who you are and hope they don't decide to rob you. Or you can travel in brand new rental car with tinted windows and risk being mistaken for police and shot at - it's a case of pick your poison.'
As recently as June 22 a travel warning issued by the US State Department warned American citizens that crimes including extortion, mugging, highway assault, home invasion, and car theft were becoming commonplace in El Salvador.
But it did not deter parents Jill and Derick from flying into Sal Salvador, where they stayed briefly at the upscale Clarion Hotel before making the hour-long journey south to La Esperanza on July 8.
Their group headed off several days later on a week-long field trip into neighboring Honduras where SOS - which stands for Seekers of Souls - are launching another Latin American mission.
It's not known, however, if Jill and baby Israel accompanied them on the four-hour drive to remote Santa Rosa de Copán.
The family's July 18 blog post gives no indication of the dangers they face but instead focuses on how locals have made a fuss of Israel, who was born April 6.
'We are so excited to announce that we have safely arrived on the mission field and we can now tell you that we are in Central America!' wrote former Walmart worker Derick.
'Israel seems to be adjusting to the new climate, culture, food (via mom's milk), and language faster than Jill and I are.
'Everywhere we go, people here about and want to see and hold the, 'big blue-eyed, white baby' LOL'
The blog entry includes a link for donations - but omits any mention of the fact that TLC has pulled the plug on 19 Kids and Counting in light of Josh Duggar's molestation scandal.
'Just 7 days ago, I had the joy of witnessing one elderly woman give lordship of her life to Christ,' Derick's entry continues.
'This transpired just one day after her Christian son was restored to fellowship in his local church.
'We were at the man's house ministering to him with encouragement from God's Word when the opportunity was presented to share the hope of the Gospel with his mother.
'It's our prayer, and we ask you to please pray with us, that many more would repent of their ways and turn to God's way for their life.'
It is against a backdrop of mayhem and bloodshed that Jill has begun a 'long-term' mission preaching the Bible and teaching English to poverty-stricken youngsters
The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens that crime and violence levels in El Salvador remain high, and U.S. citizens traveling to El Salvador should remain alert to their surroundings
Volunteers pay $300-per-week and begin each day by saying their prayers, reciting scripture and breaking bread on picnic tables overlooking palm trees and hillsides swathed with dense vegetation
Michelle Duggar said good by to Jill, Derick and their baby as they left for El Salvador in July.
19 Kids and Counting averaged more than three million viewers per episode at its peak but the show was suspended in May after it emerged that Josh, 27, had molested five girls as a teenager, four of whom were his sisters.
Jill and her Jessa Duggar, 22, later revealed to Fox News that they were among the victims but insisted their brother was behaving like a curious teenager rather than a pedophile or a rapist.
The scandal hit the news after a 2006 police surfaced revealing the abuse allegations.
Jim Bob had told a police officer about his son's behavior but no action was taken after the then-teenager confessed and apologized.
He was also sent for counseling at the controversial religious group, the Arkansas-based Institute in Basic Life Principles, where the family claim he was cleansed of his lust and found salvation.
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