Brenda Armstrong grew up in a very religious family. Her father, the Rev. Frank Armstrong, was the senior pastor at Calvary Baptist Church on North Bridge Avenue during his years in Albert Lea. Her mother, Meredith, was well known in the area for her artistic work with stained glass and as a caring nurse at Thorne Crest North.

She graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1989, worked at Trumble’s Restaurant, and succeeded her sister, Amy, as Miss Albert Lea that same year. The following year she participated in the Miss Minnesota Pageant in Austin and had the honor to represent the state at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.

Brenda attended Bethel College (now University) in the Twin Cities and married James Strombeck of the Chicago, Ill., area in 1992. She graduated from college in1993

This couple became missionaries for the Evangelical Covenant Church and have spent a good portion of their married life working in several foreign nations. This has included 2 1/2 years in Zaire (once known as the Belgian Congo and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), 4 1/2 years in Laos in southeast Asia and three years in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Strombecks and their two children; son Teddy, 8, and daughter Katie, 6, have been living in Irvine, Calif., since January and hope to to return to Bangkok next summer.At the present time she and her husband are very active in Newsong, a large church in Irvine.

“I’m not working outside the home at present. I enjoy being a mother and a missionary, reaching out to others in my community and teaching English when able to children, loving people and encouraging them and telling them they are important,” she said.