Laughter — that’s one of the main things Phil Helmuth remembers from the joint Mennonite Disaster Service and Islamic Relief USA bridge-building project in May and June in Hendersonville, N.C.

“We had so much fun working together,” said Helmuth, who was the project director at the site located around 100 miles west of Charlotte. “It was a week filled with laughing.”

Helmuth directed a team of 15 volunteers, seven from MDS and the rest from Islamic Relief USA, who worked together to rebuild a private driveway bridge washed away in September 2024 by Hurricane Helene.

In addition to the fun they had while building the bridge, there were opportunities to learn about each other.

“It was good to learn more about those who are different from us, explore different cultures and hear different worldviews,” he said, adding this included openly discussing faith. “Nothing was off the table, and nobody felt threatened answering questions. We all felt free to ask each other about beliefs in trusting and respectful ways.”

Islamic Relief USA volunteers took part in all the activities of a typical MDS project, such as morning devotions and sharing after supper when people spoke about ways they had seen God at work during the day.

“We didn’t change anything about the way we do things,” Helmuth said, adding the Islamic Relief USA volunteers also reflected on times they saw God at work. “My goal for the week was to create a welcoming environment where all volunteers would have a positive experience and learn about each other while we built the bridge.”

MDS executive director Kevin King said the joint project came about last year when Islamic Relief asked MDS if they could learn more about how the organization does its long-term recovery work.

“They wanted to know more about how we worked and ways to involve their youth in responding to disasters,” he said.

The MDS U.S. Board unanimously approved the joint project, although there was concern about what some supporters might say about working with a Muslim organization.

While it approved the two organizations working together, the MDS U.S. board declined a donation of $500,000 from Islamic Relief USA for its Hurricane Helene response.

The reason was lack of congruence with MDS’s fundraising policy, which limits contributions that are not consistent with MDS beliefs, King said.

“When I shared the board’s decision with Islamic Relief USA about working together but declining the funds, they were understanding and grateful for the chance to work together,” said King, who spent several days at the project site.

Hani Hamwi, who directs disaster management for Islamic Relief USA, said the organization wanted to team up with MDS U.S. because of its “incredible reputation for rebuilding homes.”

He appreciated that the MDS volunteers not only taught the skills needed to build a bridge but sought “to know and understand us. It was incredible to be received in such a respectful and gentle way.”

Hamwi, who volunteered at the project, came away “with the utmost respect for MDS and the Mennonite faith. . . . The world needs more Mennonites.”

King said the bridge-building proj­ect was an apt metaphor for how vol­unteers from the two faith-based organizations worked to build bridges of understanding — especially in this polarized and fraught time in the U.S.

“What we did there was more than building a bridge over a creek,” he said. “We lived out our core value as a Christian organization of building relationships.”

Added Helmuth: “I came away from the experience energized as I shared my faith story and heard the faith stories of others who are different from me.”

The “Bridging Together” project in western North Carolina was born of a partnership between MDS and Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas to rebuild bridges destroyed by Hurricane Helene — in particular, bridges that cross small creeks between the state-maintained roads and people’s homes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated the storm destroyed 4,000 bridges.