Our Adoption Story

This is the story of four children all of which are siblings who came from Poland to the United States to begin a new life, separated by two families. Their names are Mateusz, Sabrina, Kamil and Christopher. They were adopted on April 2, 2004 and here is their story.

We came from a family of seven children. Three of whom are adults and still live in Poland. The four of us were placed in a children’s home when we were Mateusz (14 yrs old), Sabrina (11 1/2), Kamil (7 1/2) and Christopher (5). In Poland we were separated into two children's homes. Sabrina and Mateusz in one, and Kamil and Christopher the youngest were in another since they were under 10 years old.

The orphanage together with the adoption agency found us two different families that would love to adopt us. The message about adoption was a shock to us. We were happy on one hand and sad on the other. We were happy that we could start a new life. The shock to this adoption however, was we had to be separated from each other. Kamil and Mateusz were to be adopted by a Polish-speaking family from New York and Sabrina and Christopher to an English only speaking family from Massachusetts.

We agreed to the adoption and both our new families would be coming to Poland to spend time with us. We spent two weeks with them getting to know them. They were great. We stayed in two separate hotels and were able to see each other during this bonding process. We got to go swimming, played soccer, and had dinners together. We also learned more about America and the place that our new adoptive parents are from. Even though this was a difficult decision for us, all we wanted was a new beginning for Kamil and Christopher, the youngest siblings. This time together helped us decide that these parents were the ones that we wanted to be with. We agreed to finalize the adoption process and begin our new lives in America. The big move began.

We arrived at JFK Airport in New York. The time had come to separate at the airport. This was the hard part, would we ever see our siblings again as was promised. Kamil and Matuesz stayed in New York on Long Island. Sabrina and Christopher were three hours away in Massachusetts.

We knew that we would eventually see each other again and that was what kept us strong. Our parents kept their promise and now we have new uncles and aunts on both sides. We spend time together pretty much every month. Sabrina and Chris visit us in New York and we travel frequently to Massachusetts to be with them. Our Polish culture has stayed the same through both parents. We are learning other cultures as well.

We are very fortunate since our two families have stayed in close contact with each other. We get together for holidays, birthdays, and vacations. We also stay in touch via e-mail, phone, and skype. We keep our Polish traditions such as celebrating the Christmas Eve, Easter, and our Name Day. We attend Catholic mass every weekend.

There were many challenges that we had to overcome. We had to learn the English language, school, and make new friends. The first year for Sabrina and Christopher was even more difficult. They had to somehow communicate with their new parents who speak English and only knew a few words in Polish. It was a little easier for Kamil and Mateusz to build a relationship with their new parents since they all spoke the same language.

America was a new life for us. We were exposed to many new cultures, languages, foods, and people. It was a pleasant surprise to live in a suburb in our own house, as opposed to being in an apartment. We were exposed to new technologies such as computers, cell phones, video games, ipods, e.t.c. We learned that in America each person has many freedoms and a means to fulfill their dreams.

In the five years that we have been here, we have accomplished many great things. We are now fluent in English, get good grades in school, and have all succeeded in sports.

Mateusz, now 19 years old has graduated from high school and will be attending Farmingdale University in the fall majoring in Engineering. He also graduated from Polish supplementary school and received three credits for passing the Polish regents. He has become an accomplished athlete and received awards while playing varsity soccer on the high school team and travel team. He is planning on trying out for the university's soccer team. He has been an alter server and made his Confirmation. He also has obtained his driver's license.

Sabrina is now 17 years old and attends High School. She is an honors student. Sabrina has joined the Cross Country Team and Indoor and Outdoor Track teams. She made the varsity teams in both sports in her first year. She has broken school records. She runs all three seasons of cross country, indoor track, and outdoor spring track. Sabrina has also competed against the best locally and represented her team at the State Championship in Boston Massachusetts. She has completed a course with the American Red Cross and is now a certified babysitter. Sabrina stills enjoys soccer, swimming and travel.

Kamil is now 13 years old and will go into the 8th grade in the fall. He is an honors student in the middle school. Kamil attends a Polish Supplementary school on Saturdays and will graduate next May. Kamil is an alter server and received his First Communion. He enjoys playing soccer and lacrosse.

Christopher is now 11 years old and will go into 5th grade in the fall. He received his Baptism and First Communion. He is only one step away achieving the rank of black belt in the art of Tae Kwon Do. Chris is also playing soccer for the local team and has been selected for the A Division of The Western Massachusetts Junior Pioneers travel team.

While we were in the Children’s home we often prayed to God that some day we would be adopted by a loving family. We thank God for answering our prayers. We have a great family and new extended family. We know that we will have a better future that we could not have obtained before. We have loving parents that are always there for us.

Thanks Tata and Mama, we love you.

Matuesz, Sabrina, Kamil, and Chris