Seventh-day Adventist leaders have welcomed signs over the weekend that India and Pakistan may have drawn back from the brink of war in the disputed Kasmir territory.

As tensions escalated last week, leaders made the decision to temporarily remove Adventist missionaries from Pakistan and areas of Northern India. Only one expatriate administrator—Sergie Ferrer, treasurer of the Pakistan Union Mission—will remain for the time being.

Church leaders are monitoring the situation closely, says Larry Colburn, assistant to the president of the Adventist world church. “We continue to ask for prayers for national leaders, church leaders and members in this part of the world,” he says.