Across the Pacific, a seed of kindness became a forest

In 2000, American teacher Ronald Sakolsky traveled to the Maowusu Sandy Land in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, to visit Chinese farmer Yin Yuzhen. A year earlier, moved by her determination to combat desertification, he raised and donated 5,000 USD to support her tree-planting efforts. During that first visit, they planted a tree together, as a small promise to the future.
With the help of media, Yin finally reconnected with Sakolsky this May and invited him back to see what had become of the land they once knew.
On Aug. 24, 26 years after his first visit, Sakolsky returned. The tree he and Yin had planted now towered several times above their heads. His act of kindness reaching across the Pacific has also grown into an entire forest.
What did this return mean to him, and what had this journey taught him about hope, perseverance and the power of working together?